The inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) was 6.83 per cent in August and 7.41 per cent in September 2022. The previous low was in June this year when the reading stood at 4.87 per cent
New Delhi: Retail inflation has slowed down to a three-month low of 5.02 percent in September 2023 owing to easing food prices, official data released by the government on Thursday revealed. As per the data, the inflation has come back to the Reserve Bank’s comfort level of below 6 percent after a gap of two months.
The inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) was 6.83 per cent in August and 7.41 per cent in September 2022. The previous low was in June this year when the reading stood at 4.87 per cent, it said.
According to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the inflation in the food basket came down to 6.56 per cent in September from 9.94 per cent in the preceding month while grain prices dipped to 10.95 percent this month compared to last month’s 11.9 percent surge.
However, the data revealed that prices of eggs rose to 6.42 percent this month compared to 4.3 percent in August. Prices of cereal have also continued to remain in double digits for the past 12 months despite a slew of measures to by the Centre.
Prices of pulses, considered a key household commodity, have also witnessed a sharp rise of 16.4 percent in September, against last month’s 13.4 percent inflation.
In a bid to control grain prices, especially wheat, the Central government has been flooding open markets with millions of tonnes of cereals from state stocks since June this year.
The RBI has predicted that the inflation will slowdown in September, which will help in accelerating GDP growth, according to experts.
In August, retail inflation had jumped to a 15-month high of 7.44 percent, far beyond RBI’s comfort limit of 4 percent as prices of groceries and essential food items sky-rocketed.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mainly factors in retail inflation while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy.
(With PTI inputs)