CPI inflation falls to 18-month low of 4.7% in April on cooling food prices

15 May 2023 Evaluate

Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to an 18-month low of 4.7 per cent in April mainly due to cooling food prices. It was for the second month in a row that CPI based inflation remained within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) comfort zone of below 6 per cent. The CPI was 5.66 per cent in March 2023 and 7.79 per cent in April 2022. Retail inflation in April is the lowest since October 2021 when it was at 4.48 per cent. The RBI has been mandated by the government to ensure inflation remains within the 4-6 per cent bracket.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its data has showed that Rural CPI (General) in April 2023 stood at 4.68 per cent as against 5.51 per cent in March. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 4.85 per cent in April as against 5.89 per cent in March. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 178.8, 177.4 and 178.1 respectively, in April 2023.

As per the data, the inflation in the food basket was 3.84 per cent in April, as against 4.79 per cent in March and 8.31 per cent in the year-ago period. Inflation rate for vegetables witnessed a contraction of 6.50 per cent in April 2023 compared to contraction of 8.51 per cent in March 2023. The inflation levels for food & beverage and fuel segments stood at 4.22 per cent and 5.52 per cent, respectively. Fruits inflation was subdued at 2.09 per cent in April 2023 compared to 7.55 per cent in March 2023. Among others, pulses inflation was elevated at 5.28 per cent in April compared to 4.33 per cent in March and 4.09 per cent in February. The cereals inflation in the food basket elevated at 13.67 per cent.