new delhi, May 13 -- India's retail inflation stood at 3.48% in April as prices of food and beverages, clothing, housing and utilities hardened amid rising energy costs linked to the West Asia conflict, according to provisional data released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation on Tuesday. The favourable base effect that had helped keep inflation subdued in recent months continued to wane. The rise pushes inflation to a 13-month high in April, up from a 10-month high in February. A Mint poll of 20 economists had put the median estimate for India's retail inflation at 3.8% in April. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data can't be compared with the year-ago period due to the reset of the index basket in January. Retail inflation was recorded at a revised 2.74% in January, marking the debut of the new series with 2024 as the base year. It rose further and stood at 3.21% in February and 3.4% in March. "The available data suggests that the YoY inflation rates have hardened across most food items during early-May 2026 vis-a-vis April 2026, amid erratic weather conditions and supply disruptions," said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at Icra Ltd. "Icra expects the YoY inflation in the F&B segment to inch up further to 4.5% in May 2026." April's inflation number is still below the Reserve Bank of India's 4% medium-term target even as war-led inflationary pressures build up. Inflation is likely to be driven by a fading base effect and rising prices in non-food segments. Food inflation, which is a key constituent of the country's consumer price index under the new series, stood at 4.20% in April, up from 3.87% in March. Housing inflation stood at 2.15% last month against 2.11% in February. According to Rajeev Sharan, head of research at Brickwork Ratings, April CPI inflation at 3.48% is broadly benign, but the rise in food inflation to 4.20% shows how weather-linked pressures continue to shape the inflation path. "With the monsoon forecast still uncertain, the outlook hinges on whether early rains stabilise vegetable and cereal supplies or amplify existing stresses in perishables. Core inflation at ~3.3% remains relatively contained," Sharan said. "Yet this softness may prove fragile if higher logistics and input costs, already visible in freight and fertilizer markets, spill over into non-food segments." Silver, gold, diamond and platinum jewellery as well as vegetables such as tomato, cauliflower and coconut copra were among the items that had the strongest inflationary pressure. Onion, peas, motor cars and air-conditioners remained the top items, with low inflation in April, the data showed. Inflation was the highest in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka while it was the lowest in Delhi, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh. Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services as a group had the highest inflationary effect at 17.66%. Higher oil prices also showed its impact on transport services for goods, which saw higher inflation of 7.60% in April. The RBI kept interest rates unchanged at its meeting on 8 April, striking a cautious tone as it monitors the impact of surging oil prices on the economy and pledges to curb any excessive currency moves. The central bank's six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep the benchmark repo rate at 5.25%, retaining a neutral policy stand....