Retail Inflation In India Eases To 4.83 Per Cent In April From 4.85 Per Cent In March

Retail Inflation in April: In January and February, the inflation figures stood at 5.10 per cent and 5.09 per cent, respectively. In March, retail inflation dropped to 4.85 per cent

In April, food inflation, a significant component of the overall consumer price index, increased by 8.70 per cent, surpassing the 8.52 per cent rise seen in the previous month.

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Retail Inflation in April: Retail inflation in India eases to 4.83 per cent in April from 4.85 per cent in March, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday. In April, food inflation, a significant component of the overall consumer price index, increased by 8.70 per cent, surpassing the 8.52 per cent rise seen in the previous month. Since November 2023, food inflation has consistently maintained an upward trend, exceeding 8 per cent year-on-year.

Among the top five groups, the year-on-year inflation on groups ‘Clothing & Footwear’, ‘Housing’ and ‘Fuel & light’ has decreased since last month, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Fuel and power prices dropped 4.24 per cent in April compared with a fall of 3.24 pee cent in the previous month.

India has seen a gradual decrease in retail inflation since December of the previous year, when it peaked at 5.69 per cent. In January and February, the inflation figures stood at 5.10 per cent and 5.09 per cent, respectively. March marked a significant downturn, with retail inflation dropping notably to 4.85 per cent. According to economists, a further decline in retail inflation is possible as they have projected it to hover around 4.80 per cent in April.

In the most recent MPC declarations, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das revealed that the projected CPI inflation for FY25 stands at 4.5 per cent. These latest figures comfortably fall within the central bank's tolerance band of 2-6 per cent, with the set target being 4 per cent. Looking ahead, RBI anticipates inflation to hit 4.9 per cent in the April-June quarter and then ease to 3.8 per cent in the subsequent September quarter.

Akhil Mittal, senior fund manager-fixed income at Tata Asset Management, said, "CPI came in at 4.83 per cent YoY, in line with expectations. All broader indices are well contained other than food prices , which rose by 8.7 per cent. Overall in line with RBI trajectory and hence, may not have any material impact on policy/markets."