Retail inflation rises to 6.93% in July from 6.23% in June

NEW DELHI: Retail inflation based on consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to 6.93 per cent in the month of July as against 6.23 per cent in June mainly due to higher food prices, government data showed on Wednesday. The food inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, increased to 9.62 per cent.
The retail inflation figure for the month of June was revised by the government to 6.23 per cent from 6.09 per cent earlier.
Food prices, which account for nearly half the inflation basket, have soared since April due to supply-side disruptions caused by nationwide lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The inflation figures for July exceeds the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) medium-term target of 4 per cent (+, - 2 per cent). The RBI mainly factors in the retail inflation while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy.
In its policy review meet earlier this month, the RBI decided to keep key lending rate unchanged. The central bank has reduced repo rate by a total of 115 basis points since February despite a recent rise in retail consumer prices. However, the RBI said it would ensure inflation remains within the target.
RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said the country's headline inflation is expected to remain elevated during the second quarter of the current fiscal year and may subside thereafter. He further added that domestic food inflation remains elevated across most economies since the onset of the pandemic.
The National Statistical Organisation (NSO) did not release the overall inflation numbers for the month of April and May due to difficulty in getting responses from the field in the wake of Covid-induced lockdowns.
(With agency inputs)