Retail Inflation Eases To 7.04% In May, Remains Above RBI's Tolerance Level For 5th Month

India's headline retail inflation eases slightly to 7.04 per cent in May from 7.79 per cent in April, government data shows.

It's the fifth consecutive month in which inflation has been above the 6 per cent upper band of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance band.

The retail inflation surged to a near 8-year high of 7.79 per cent in April, remaining above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) inflation target for the fourth straight month, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed.

High price levels of fuel and food items, especially of vegetables, spices and oils/fats, along with household services, contributed to the sharp rise in inflation.

The CPI-based inflation stood at 6.95 per cent in March, 6.07 per cent in February and 6.01 per cent in January.

The RBI has been mandated by the government to keep retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.

Inflation in the food basket was 7.97 per cent in May 2022, marginally lower than 8.31 per cent in the previous month, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

Last week, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) voted unanimously to increase the repo rate by 50 basis points to 4.90% in a bid to slow inflation that it estimates will average 7.5% in the current April-June quarter.

As per the RBI's projections, inflation in the first quarter of the fiscal is likely to be 7.5 per cent and at 7.4 per cent in the following three months. It is expected to decline to 6.2 per cent and 5.8 per cent in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.