Tag: consumer price index

The Indian economy looks better than almost any other, according to some positive thinking analysts. If you consider prices, consumer price inflation in the US is at 8.5 percent, a 40-year high. In the euro area, it is 7.5 percent. These are economies used to inflation averaging less than 2 percent. Here in India we may groan over rising petrol and diesel costs and some spectacular price tags on individual food items. Naturally, criticism of the RBI has grown for not having placed greater emphasis much earlier on controlling inflation, which is now well above the target range. Still, India’s consumer price inflation is moderate at fractionally under 7 percent. Compared with the Brics economies, Brazilian inflation is in the double-digits at 11.3 percent, as is Russia’s at 16.7 percent. Only China has the inflation beast virtually slain, breathing slowly at just 1.5 per cent. (All numbers are as compiled by The Economist) Read more

Wholesale inflation in India accelerated to 10.49 percent in April on account of a surge in the prices of fuel and manufactured products, data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed. The wholesale inflation rate, measured by WPI, has been rising continuously since December. It soared to an eight-year high in March to 7.39 percent. The latest price data released by the government today(17th May 2021) showed that food prices rose to 4.92 percent in April, along with a massive price surge in manufacturing products at 9.01 percent. Fuel and power inflation stood at nearly 21 percent led by higher petrol and diesel prices. Read more

Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation came in above the monetary policy committee’s target band of 4 percent (with a margin of +/-2) for the fourth consecutive month in July. The official data released yesterday(13th August 2020) showed that retail inflation rose to 6.93 percent year-on-year, up from 6.23 percent in June, mainly because of a rise in food and petroleum prices. Consumer Food Price Index-based inflation (CFPI) rose to 9.62 percent in July, compared to 8.72 percent in the previous month. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) monetary policy committee kept key policy rates unchanged, deciding to use the future rate cuts “judiciously to maximize the beneficial effects”. The repo rate currently stands at 4 percent, and the reverse repo rate at 3.35 percent. Retail inflation has breached the RBI’s upper tolerance limit (6 percent) for four consecutive months and seven out of eight months.