13 august 2024 : Retail inflation experienced a notable decline, reaching a five-year low of 3.54 percent in July, primarily due to lower food prices and a favorable base effect, as reported by official data released on Monday.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation stood at 5.08 percent in June 2024 and 7.44 percent in July 2023.
This marks the first instance since September 2019 that retail inflation has fallen below the Reserve Bank’s median target of 4 percent, which was recorded at 3.99 percent at that time. The government has assigned the RBI the responsibility of maintaining inflation around 4 percent, allowing for a margin of 2 percent on either side. Since September 2023, inflation has consistently remained below 6 percent.
Data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) indicated that the annual inflation rates for ‘milk and milk products’ were at 2.99 percent, ‘oils and fats’ at -1.17 percent, fruits at 3.84 percent, and spices at -1.43 percent.
The price increase for vegetables was reported at 6.83 percent, while ‘cereals and products’ saw an increase of 8.14 percent, according to the NSO.
In July, the CPI inflation for the food basket was recorded at 5.42 percent, a decrease from 9.36 percent in June and 11.51 percent a year prior. The ‘fuel and light’ segment experienced a negative inflation rate of 5.48 percent.
Furthermore, the NSO data revealed that inflation rates exceeded the national average in rural areas, standing at 4.1 percent, while urban areas recorded a lower rate of 2.98 percent. Among the states, Bihar reported the highest inflation rate at 5.87 percent, whereas Jharkhand had the lowest at 1.72 percent.
