Retail inflation in India decreased to 4.7 percent in April from 5.66 percent in March, according to data that the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in India released on Friday. This marks a new low for the period of 18 months and was caused by a favourable base.
Additionally, the inflation rate for food decreased to 3.84 percent in April. In March, it was 4.79 percent already. Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has, for the second month in a row, maintained a range that the Reserve Bank of India considers acceptable—below 6%.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), retail inflation was 5.66 percent in March 2023, whereas it was 7.79 percent during the same time period the previous year. This month’s retail inflation rate of 4.48 percent is the lowest it’s been since October 2021, when it was also at this level.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) reports that inflation in the food basket was 3.84 percent in April, down from 4.79 percent in March and 8.31 percent in the same month a year earlier. This is a decrease from the previous year’s rate of 8.31 percent. As a result of increasing costs for cereals, milk, and fruits, as well as a slower deflation in vegetable prices, retail inflation increased from 5.7 percent in December 2022 to 6.4 percent in February 2023.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has forecast that CPI inflation will be 5.2 percent for the fiscal year 2023–24, with 5.1 percent in the first quarter, 5.4 percent in the second quarter, 5.2 percent in the third quarter, and 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter, with risks being fairly balanced.
According to MoSPI’s weekly roster, field employees of the Field Operations Division of NSO made personal visits to selected 1,114 metropolitan markets and 1,181 villages throughout all of the states and UTs to gather information on prices. These locations encompass the whole country. The National Statistics Office (NSO) gathered prices during the month of April from 99.83% of villages and 98.563% of urban markets. However, the market-wise prices recorded therein were only 89.90% for rural and 93.143% for urban.
An earlier poll conducted by experts for Reuters predicted that consumer inflation in India likely slowed to an 18-month low in April as gains in food and fuel costs eased, keeping it below the upper tolerance threshold of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the second month in a row. As a result of slower growth in the prices of grains and edible oils, it was anticipated that India’s food inflation, which makes up about half of the entire consumer price basket, would have decreased once again in the month of April.
