The rate of price rise in the food basket was 2.99 per cent in August, up from 2.36 per cent in the previous month, as per the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
Prices of vegetables, eggs, meat and fish pushed the retail inflation up year-on-year. Vegetables' prices increased 2.82 per cent, meat and fish 9.05 per cent, eggs 0.57 per cent and pulses and its products 6.82 per cent.
Rising for sixth month in a row, retail inflation rose to 3.18 per cent in June due to costlier food products such as grains, pulses and protein-rich items meat and fish, government data showed Friday.
The inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) 2.86 per cent in the previous month and 4.58 per cent in April 2018, said the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation was at 2.57 per cent in February this year. On yearly basis, it was 4.28 per cent in March 2018.
Retail inflation rose to four-month high of 2.57 per cent in February, mainly driven by higher food prices.
The decline was due to a fall in food prices and smaller increases in fuel costs.
The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) deflation reversed marginally to (-)2.51 per cent in December, from (-)2.61 per cent in the previous month.
Even on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in October 2018 was lower than in the corresponding period of last year, when retail inflation stood at 3.58 per cent.
In October 2017, CPI inflation was at 3.58 per cent and it has remained above RBI’s targeted rate of 4 per cent since then.
The factors that are likely to impact inflation number going forward include volatility in the global financial markets, oil prices, MSP pass-through and staggered impact of HRA increases by states.
On MSP hike, RBI said there is a considerable uncertainty and the exact impact would depend on the nature and scale of the government's procurement operations.
The increase in inflation has reduced possibilities of an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank in its upcoming monetary policy review.
The drop in retail or consumer inflation was mostly driven by lower food prices, the government said.
The ease in the inflation number was mostly driven by lower food prices. However, the figure remains higher than the 4 per cent target of the Reserve Bank of India.
According to data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO), the inflation rate for the last month was mainly driven by steep hike in food and fuel prices.
The inflation rate stood at 3.63 per cent during the corresponding period last year. In October, the inflation rate was registered at 3.58 per cent.
Costlier food items, particularly vegetables, pushed up retail inflation in October to seven-month high of 3.58%. The Consumer Price Index-based inflation was 3.28% in September.
On a sequential basis, the country's Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) dropped to 1.25 per cent during the month under review when compared to 1.52 per cent in August 2017.
The current rate of inflation is the highest in five months.
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