Retail inflation lowest for second time in 5 years; inflation rises marginally as vegetable prices rise
New Delhi| Retail inflation rose marginally to 3.65% in August, driven by a surge in vegetable and fruit prices. Despite this increase, it remained the lowest for the second time in five years. Earlier in September, 2019, retail inflation had been 3.99%. Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation had also declined to a five-year low of 3.54% in July, 2024, compared to 6.83% in August, 2023.
According to data released on Thursday by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the inflation rate of food items increased marginally to 5.66% last month. Despite this it is a 14-month low since June, 2023. In July it had been 5.42%. During this period, the inflation rate of vegetables increased from 6.83 in July to 10.71 percent.
Inflation was still below 4 per cent in July. The government has tasked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure that CPI inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent.
