Retail inflation declined to 4.87% in Oct from 5.02% in Sept: Govt data

Retail inflation declined to 4.87 per cent in October from 5.02 per cent in September, government data showed on Monday.

The Consumer Price Index-based retail inflation had dropped to three-month low of 5.02 per cent in September In its October meeting, the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had projected CPI inflation at 5.4 per cent for 2023-24, a moderation from 6.7 per cent in 2022-23.

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said that ‘the fight against inflation is not over yet,’ and stated that the central bank wants to keep inflation at 4%, and not between 2-6%.

The government has tasked the RBI to ensure the CPI inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. The central bank mainly factors in the retail inflation while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy.

Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, rose 6.61% in October as compared with 6.56% in September, as per the report shared by the government.