NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India’s retail inflation fell in July to a near five-year low, as food prices eased from previous highs due to a base effect, government data showed on Monday.
Annual retail inflation was 3.54% in July, down from 5.08% in June. The latest print is the lowest since August 2019.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast inflation at 3.65%, based on a higher print in July last year when inflation hit a 15-month peak of 7.44%.
Retail inflation fell below the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 4% largely due to the high-base effect, suggesting the slower pace of price rises was temporary. The inflation rate was last recorded below 4% in September 2019.
Prices of food, which account for nearly half of the retail inflation, rose 5.42% from last year in July, compared to a 9.36% rise in June.
Vegetable prices rose 6.83% year-on-year in July against 29.32% in the previous month.
(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Janane Venkatraman)
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