Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to a five-month low of 4.35 per cent in September from 7.27 per cent in the year-ago period as prices of vegetables and other items declined. The CPI inflation was at 5.3 per cent in August. Previously, the CPI was low at 4.23 per cent in April 2021. The CPI-based inflation falls within the RBI’s targeted range of 2 plus/minus 4 per cent.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its data has showed that the Rural CPI (General) in September 2021 stood at 4.13 per cent as against 5.28 per cent in August. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 4.57 per cent in September as against 5.32 per cent in August. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 164.0, 162.3 and 163.2, respectively, in September 2021.
As per the data released by the NSO, the inflation in food segment eased to 0.68 per cent in September, significantly down from 3.11 per cent in the preceding month. The data showed that inflation in the vegetables basket contracted 22.47 per cent in September compared to a decline of 11.68 per cent in August. The rate of price rise was also lower in fruits, eggs, meat and fish, and pulses and products segments. However, the inflation was higher in the case of fuel and light at 13.63 per cent in September compared to 12.95 per cent in August.