India’s retail inflation dropped to 4.25% in May from 4.70% in April, data from the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed on Monday.
This is the lowest that the price rise indicator has been since April 2021, when it stood at 4.23%, according to NDTV. In April 2022, it was 7.04%.
The inflation in rural areas in April stood at 4.17% and 4.27% in urban areas, according to the data.
Retail inflation for April continues to be within the tolerance level of the Reserve Bank of India for the third consecutive month. The central bank aims to keep inflation between 2% and 6%.
Data released by the government on Monday showed that food inflation eased to 2.91% in May from 3.84% in April.
Meanwhile, the Index of Industrial Production rose sharply to 4.2% on an annual basis in April from 1.1% in March.
As per the data released by the National Statistical Office, the manufacturing sector’s output grew by 4.9% in April 2023 as against 5.6% a year ago.
The easing of the retail inflation came after the Reserve Bank of India on June 6 decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50%. The repo rate is the interest rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks.
Central banks typically increase key lending rates at times of high…
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