India’s retail inflation eased to 5.48% in November, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on Thursday.
This marks a decline after inflation had surpassed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 6% upper tolerance threshold in October.
The moderation was largely due to the seasonal arrival of fresh produce, which helped temper the sharp rise in vegetable prices. Food inflation, which accounts for roughly half of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, fell to 9.04% in November, down from 10.87% in October.
However, rural inflation accelerated to 9.10%, compared to 6.68% in the previous month, while urban inflation rose to 8.74%, up from 5.62%. Inflation had unexpectedly surged to a 14-month high of 6.21% in October, driven by the fastest increase in vegetable prices in nearly four years.
Last week, the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) downgraded its growth forecast for the fiscal year to 6.6% from 7.2%, while raising its inflation estimate to 4.8%, up from 4.5%, due to concerns over persistent food inflation.
