E-Paper
Retail inflation eased to 7.04% in May from 8-year-high of 7.79% in April
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 7.79 per cent in April. In May 2021, the retail inflation stood at 6.3 per cent.
India's retail inflation eased slightly in May, after touching an eight-year high of 7.79 per cent in April, though it remained above the RBI's upper tolerance level for the fifth consecutive month, government data showed on Monday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 7.79 per cent in April. In May 2021, the retail inflation stood at 6.3 per cent.
A surge in crude oil and commodity prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 24 has pushed up consumer prices globally, forcing many central banks to raise interest rates to tame inflation.
CPI-based inflation rose 7.04 per cent in May year-on-year, helped by slower increases in food prices, data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed on Monday.
Inflation in the food basket was 7.97 per cent in May 2022, marginally lower than 8.31 per cent in the previous month, the NSO data showed.
The Reserve Bank of India, which factors in the CPI in its monetary policy, had earlier this month raised the inflation forecast for the current financial year to 6.7 per cent from its previous estimate of 5.7 per cent.
As per the RBI's projections, inflation in the first quarter of the fiscal is likely to be 7.5 per cent and at 7.4 per cent in the following three months. It is expected to decline to 6.2 per cent and 5.8 per cent in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
The government has tasked the RBI to ensure inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)
