Retail inflation rose to 7.44 per cent in July from 4.87 per cent in June. Its figures were released by the government on Monday. Retail inflation in July has moved out of the inflation band of 2 to 6 percent set by the RBI. Due to the sharp increase in the prices of food items including vegetables, especially tomatoes, the retail inflation has crossed 7 percent in July 2023.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics, a huge increase in the inflation rate of food items has been recorded. The July retail inflation reading is the highest since May 2022. At that time the retail inflation rate was recorded at 7.79%. The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) rose to 11.51% in July 2023 from 4.49% in June. The rural inflation stood at 7.63 per cent while the urban inflation stood at 7.20 per cent.
Inflation went out of control after being under RBI’s control for four months
Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation breached the upper limit in July after remaining within the Reserve Bank’s (RBI) tolerance band of 2 to 6 per cent for four consecutive months. A higher than expected rise in prices of vegetables, especially tomatoes, in the last one month led to a rise in retail inflation. The inflation rate of vegetables showed a steady rise and it reached 37.34 percent on an annual basis. It registered a decrease of 0.93 percent on an annual basis. Inflation in food and beverages rose to 10.57 per cent from 4.63 per cent in June. Inflation in coarse cereals rose to 13.04 per cent from 12.71 per cent in June.
Food and beverages costlier by 5.94 percent
Inflation in food and beverages increased from 4.63 percent to 10.57 percent. Inflation in fuel and power stood at 3.67 per cent. At the same time, the inflation in cereals and products increased from 12.71 percent to 13.04 percent.
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- Rural inflation: 7.63 percent, was 4.72 percent in June.
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- Urban inflation: 7.20 percent, was 4.96 percent in June.
-1.36 percent wholesale inflation remained negative for the fourth consecutive month
Wholesale inflation has remained below zero for the fourth consecutive month since April. It stood at -1.36 per cent in July, compared to 14.07 per cent in July last year. In June this year it was -4.12 per cent, compared to which it has increased by 2.76 per cent. The decline in inflation in July was mainly due to decline in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, textiles and food articles, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said.
