New Delhi: The retail inflation rate increased to seven percent in the month of August due to the cost of food items. This information has been received from government data released on Monday. It was 6.71 percent in July a month ago. Inflation based on the CPI remained above the upper limit of the reserve’s satisfactory level for the eighth consecutive month.
The government has mandated the RBI to keep retail inflation between 2 percent and 6 percent. According to the data, the inflation rate in food articles stood at 7.62 percent in August as against 6.69 percent in July. Whereas in August last year it was 3.11 percent.
It is noteworthy that once again the food inflation rate has increased in the month of August. Food inflation stood at 7.62 percent, against 6.75 percent in July and 7.75 percent in June. At the same time, the inflation rate of vegetables and vegetables has increased at the rate of 13.23 percent. Vegetables, condiments, footwear (shoes and slippers), and fuel and lighting categories have seen prices increase by more than 10 percent year on year. However, inflation declined in the case of eggs while prices of protein foods such as meat and fish remained stable. Inflation had touched 7.79 percent in April this year. However, it declined later and came down to 6.71 percent in July.
Retail inflation data still remains above the upper limit of 6 percent of RBI’s tolerance band. RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting will be held from 28 to 30 September. After which the RBI will clear its stand on interest rates on 30 September. It is believed that the Reserve Bank is again likely to increase the repo rate by a quarter percent. Whereas, the repo rate can be increased from 5.40 percent to 5.65 percent.
