Retail Inflation Spikes To 3.99 Per Cent In September From 3.21 Per Cent In August

The retail inflation increased to 3.99 per cent in September from 3.21 per cent in August, according to the government. The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was registered at 3.28 per cent in August. On year-on-year basis, the inflation was 3.70 per cent in the September 2018. The price rise in the food basket was recorded at 5.11 per cent in September, as against 2.99 per cent in the preceding month, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed.

The inflation print for vegetables shot up to 15.40 per cent during the month. However, the headline inflation still remained within the comfort zone of the Reserve Bank, which mainly factors in CPI while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy.

Earlier in the day, wholesale inflation eased to more than three-year low of 0.33 per cent in September mainly due to falling prices of fuel and certain food articles, according to official data. The wholesale price index-based inflation was 1.08 per cent in August this year and 5.22 per cent in September 2018.

The previous low was recorded in June 2016 when wholesale inflation was in negative at 0.1 per cent.

Inflation print for food articles, as a basket, remained nearly flat at 7.47 per cent during the month. Prices of potato fell by a further 22.50 per cent as against a decline of 21.28 per cent in August, the Commerce and Industry Ministry data showed.

For fuel and power category, inflation came in at (-) 7.05 per cent, as against (-) 4 per cent in the preceding month.

For manufactured products, it slipped to negative territory at 0.42 per cent in September as against no change in prices during August.