Retail inflation declines to 18-month low of 4.7 pc in March

NEW DELHI — Retail inflation fell to an 18-month low of 4.7 per cent in April mainly due to cooling food prices, government data showed on Friday.

It was for the second month in a row that Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation remained within the RBI’s comfort zone of below 6 per cent.

The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 5.66 per cent in March 2023 and 7.79 per cent in the year-ago period. Retail inflation in April is the lowest since October 2021 when it was at 4.48 per cent.

According to the National Statistical Office, the inflation in the food basket was 3.84 per cent in April, as against 4.79 per cent in March and 8.31 per cent in the year-ago period.

Retail inflation rose from 5.7 per cent in December 2022 to 6.4 per cent in February 2023 on the back of higher prices of cereals, milk and fruits and slower deflation in vegetable prices.

Reserve Bank of India has projected the CPI inflation at 5.2 per cent for FY2023-24, with 5.1 per cent in Q1, 5.4 per cent in Q2, 5.4 per cent in Q3, and 5.2 per cent in Q4, and risks evenly balanced.