India’s Consumer Price Index-based inflation rose to 3.58% in October, the highest in seven months, data released by the Central Statistics Office on Monday showed. The figure in September was 3.28%, flat since August.
The growth in the Consumer Food Price Index – an indicator for food prices – also recovered in October, to 1.90%, after it had slowed to 1.25% in September.
Consumer price inflation had fallen to a record low of 1.46% in June following a drop in food prices, but has recovered steadily since then. The Reserve Bank of India targets a retail inflation rate of 4%, with a tolerance band of 2%-6%. June was the first month the inflation fell outside the band since inflation targeting was first adopted by India.
The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet next month for its bimonthly policy review, where it sets the repo rate to keep inflation within the target range.
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