New Delhi: India’s retail inflation, based on the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series, edged up to 4.82 per cent in August this year compared to the same month of the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Monday.
The commodities that posted the highest inflation during the month were silver jewellery which saw a 107.11 per cent jump in prices, and gold jewellery which clocked a 35.55 per cent increase in prices.
Overall food inflation in August rose to 5.95 per cent as the prices of onion ginger and garlic shot up by 48.27 per cent, 73.82 per cent and 43.6 per cent, respectively. However, the prices of tomatoes plummeted by as much as (-) 31.09 per cent and potatoes turned cheaper by (-)13.14 per cent during the month, the figures showed.
Among the other goods which turned cheaper during August were cars which registered a (-) 6.72 per cent decline in prices.
The CPI inflation is still within the RBI’s tolerance zone which ranges from 2 per cent to 6 per cent and has 4 per cent as the midpoint. The RBI’s monetary policy aims to keep inflation within this zone as it balances its objective of promoting economic growth with stability.
After the latest announcement of the monetary policy review, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that headline inflation has moved above target mainly because of higher fuel prices, while broader price pressures remain in check. The RBI maintained a status quo on the repo rate to push growth.
The RBI cut its forecast for average inflation in the current financial year to 5 per cent from the 5.1 per cent it projected in June. The forecast for core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, was cut more steeply to 4.3 per cent from 4.7 per cent earlier.
The RBI has also upped its growth forecast to 6.7 per cent from 6.6 per cent for FY27, reflecting confidence in the economy’s resilience despite a mixed flow of incoming data.
(IANS)
