Retail inflation eases to 5.3% in August compared to 5.59 pc in July: Govt data

With softening of food prices, retail inflation declined marginally to 5.3% in August, according to the data released by National Statistical Office (NSO). In July 2020, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was 5.59%, whereas in August 2020 it was 6.69%.

Inflation in the food basket slowed down to 3.11% in August 2021 from 3.96% in July 2021, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

The CPI inflation was projected at 5.7% during 2021-22 by the Reserve Bank of India. It was projected 5.9% in the second quarter, 5.3% in the third, and 5.8% in the fourth quarter of the fiscal, with risks broadly balanced.

For Q1, 2022-23 CPI inflation is projected at 5.1%.

In its monetary policy review in August, the RBI had kept the key interest rate unchanged. The RBI’s bi-monthly monetary policy is decided in a way that it manages the CPI.