A report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on July 18 blamed high, persistent food prices as a major hurdle in the path of disinflation.
“Every silver lining has a cloud. Data for June 2024 showed that consumer price inflation ticked up after three consecutive months of moderation as a broad flare-up in vegetables prices halted the overall disinflation that had been underway,” the RBI Bulletin said on July 18.
In June, India’s retail inflation rose to four-month high of 5.08 percent compared to 4.75 percent in the month ago period, as food inflation galloped to 9.4 percent given the impact of heatwave on vegetables prices.
Inflation had dipped to a 12-month low of 4.75 percent in the month of May, despite food inflation hovering around 8.7 percent.
The monthly State of the Economy article includes Deputy Governor Michael Patra – one of the three RBI representatives on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) – as one of its co-authors. The views expressed in the article do not reflect the central bank’s official stance, RBI said in a release.