The country's retail inflation rate, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 4.91 percent during the month of November 2021, as per the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on December 13.
The inflation has increased sequentially, as it was recorded at 4.48 percent in October 2021. Year-on-year, however, a dip has been registered as the rate of inflation in November 2020 was 6.93 percent.
The uptick on sequential basis was led by an increase in food prices, particularly vegetables, the government data showed. The overall Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) rose to 1.87 percent, as compared to 0.85 percent in the preceding month.
Both, the CFPI and CPI-based inflation in November was higher in urban parts of the country as compared to their rural counterparts.
Retail inflation rose by 5.54 percent and 4.29 percent in urban and rural areas, respectively, whereas, food inflation climbed by 3.33 percent in urban regions and and 1.09 percent in rural regions.
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For the fifth month in a row, retail inflation has been below the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s six percent-target. The central bank has been directed by the Centre maintain a retail inflation rate at four percent with an upper and lower margin of two percent on either side for five years, till March 2026.
The RBI factors in CPI data while preparing its bi-monthly fiscal policy. On December 8, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at four percent for the ninth time in a row.
Also Read | October wholesale price inflation rises to 5-month high of 12.5%
Notably, the RBI had projected CPI inflation at 5.3 percent for fiscal year 2021-22. This includes a projection of 5.1 percent in the second quarter, 4.5 percent in third, 5.8 percent in the last quarter of the fiscal, with risks broadly balanced. The retail inflation during the April-June period of 2022-23 is projected at 5.2 percent.
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