Retail inflation rose to 6.93% in July compared to a revised estimate of 6.23% in June as food prices continued to rise due to disrupted supply chains, government data released on Thursday showed.
It is above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper margin of 6%. Last week, the central bank had kept interest rates unchanged after reducing the repo rate by a total of 115 basis points since February. The RBI had said it would ensure inflation remains within target.
Food inflation increased to 9.62% in July from 8.72% in June, according to the data. Vegetable inflation stood at 11.29% from 4% in June, while inflation in the fruits category stood at 0.13% from 0.3% in June. The prices of pulses rose by 15.92% in July in comparison to 17.6% in the previous month. Meanwhile, inflation in the meats and fish category saw a rise of 18.81%, oil and fats by 12.41%, and spices jumped by 13.27%.
Transport and communication inflation rose to 9.95% in July from 8.3% in June. Clothing and footwear inflation was at 2.91% in July from 2.7% last month. Housing inflation stood at 3.25% in July compared to 3.5% in June. Fuel and light inflation rose from 0.5% in the previous month to 2.8% in July.
Inflation in urban areas was at 6.84% compared to 6.1% in June, whereas in rural areas it stood at 7.04% in July compared 6.3% in June.
The government had suspended the release of retail inflation data for April and May, citing inadequate data collection during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. However, in April it had revised the consumer price inflation to a final 5.84% for March, from the provisional 5.91%.
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