RETAIL INFLATION

India’s retail inflation eased marginally to 6.44% in February after three-month high of 6.52% in January. The new inflation will burn pockets of consumer as prices continued to be above the Reserve Bank of India’s so-called tolerable limit of 6% for two straight months. On March 13, the RBI released the data, which said the food and beverages inflation index stood at 6.26% during the month against 6.19% in January.

The price of tomatoes increased in Chennai, due to incessant rains which damaged the crop in Tamil Nadu. In Chennai's Koyambedu wholesale market, tomatoes were sold at Rs 90/kg on December 4 which increased to Rs 100/kg on December 5. “Market has shown a sudden rise in the prices of tomato and this will have a spiral effect," said M. Thiagarajan, President of Koyambedu Fruits and Vegetable merchants association.

Retail inflation rate has raised to 6.93% in July compared to 6.23% in June. Food prices accounted for nearly half of the retail inflation as food inflation accelerated to 9.62% according to Consumer Price Index (CPI). Food prices soared since April due to the supply disruption caused by lockdown. During the second quarter, country's headline inflation is expected to remain the same and may decline thereafter, said RBI governor Shaktikanta… read-more