October's consumer inflation reading stood below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) mid-term goal of 4 per cent for the third straight month. The recent government data released on Monday supports the central bank's surprise decision to hold interest rates in its last policy statement. The RBI had, in its October 5 meeting, decided to maintain status quo on key lending rates, while ruling out any reduction for the time being. The retail inflation number is the lowest since September 2017 when it touched 3.28 per cent.
For the month of October, prices of vegetables fell by 8.06 per cent compared to a 4.15 per cent decline in September month. Even in the fruits segment, inflation also slowed to 0.35 per cent in when compared to 1.12 per cent recorded previous month.
The data also stated that inflation eased in protein-rich items including cereals, eggs, milk and related products. However, inflation rose to 8.55 per cent for the fuel and light category in comparison to 8.47 per cent last in September.
Food deflation stood at 0.86 per cent in October, as against inflation of 0.51 per cent in the previous month, according to the official release. Several economists are of the opinion that the sudden decline in food prices led to the softening of consumer inflation.