This increase was primarily driven by higher prices in both food and beverage items, which rose by 4.95%, and non-food and services, which saw a 5.37% increase. Among food items, fruits experienced the highest price hike at 17.40%, followed by ghee and oil at 15.10%.
Wholesale price inflation, often an indicator of future consumer prices, also surged to 8.47% year-on-year in mid-June 2026. Despite this acceleration, the average inflation rate for the first 11 months of fiscal year 2025/26 eased to 2.89%. The Nepal Rastra Bank projects an average inflation rate of around 5.5% for the upcoming fiscal year 2026/27.