According to the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) data, India’s retail inflation softened marginally to 6.69% in August from 6.73% in July.
The retail inflation which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in July was also revised to 6.73% from 6.93%. Last month too, the government had revised the CPI data for June to 6.23% from 6.09%.
The combined food price inflation during the month was at 9.05% vs. 9.62%. The vegetable inflation rose marginally to 11.41% from 11.29% while fuel & light inflation increased to 3.10% from 2.80%.
The growth in retail inflation was primarily due to a rise in meat and fish prices that saw a 16.50% yoy rise in August. Apart from meat and fish segment, the pulses and products segment saw a rise of 14.44%, while that of oils and fats rose 12.45% and spices prices gained 12.34% and the vegetable segment also witnessed a rise of 11.41%.
Upasna Bhardwaj, Senior Economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank
“CPI inflation reading while continues to remain uncomfortably elevated has started to trend lower providing some relief. However, several uncertainties remain ahead as supply-side disruptions continue to dominate the weaker demand-side pressures along with one-off idiosyncratic factors weighing on core inflation. Going ahead as inflation remains elevated in the near term we see limited room for policy easing at least through the December policy.”
Aditi Nayar, Principal economist, ICRA Ltd
The CPI inflation printed at a higher than expected 6.7% in August 2020, and was rigid at the revised level for the previous month, with a cooling of the inflation for food and housing offset by hardening in the prints for pan, tobacco and intoxicants, fuel and light and miscellaneous items.
