Rate of retail inflation jumped from 9.14 per cent in September to 9.6 per cent in October of the current year, mainly due to higher prices of wheat and rice.

Retail inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Industrial Workers, was recorded at 9.39 per cent in the year-ago period.

Prices of food items jumped 0.43 per cent, which contributed 0.45 percentage points to overall change in the index. Eatables like wheat, rice, milk, tea and onion exerted the biggest upward pressure on inflation.

Apart from food items, electricity charges, cooking gas, fire wood, medicine, doctors' fee, cinema charges, bus fare, also put a considerable upward pressure in total change in the index.

On the other hand, oils and fats made the biggest downward contribution to the change in index. Oils and fats dropped 1.08 per cent, contributing minus 0.10 percentage points to the total downward change.

India's statistics ministry individually rolls out annual inflation statistics based on the CPI each month. As per its stats, the annual consumer price inflation stood at 9.75 per cent in October.

The union government makes use of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers to fix its employees' wages.