New Delhi, The rate of retail inflation moderated marginally, yet it is above 7 per cent. Apart from this, for the seventh consecutive month, the rate of retail inflation remained above the maximum limit set by the Reserve Bank of India, RBI. According to government data released on Tuesday, the consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation declined marginally in the month of June to 7.01 per cent from 7.04 per cent.
This is the sixth consecutive month that retail inflation has remained above the RBI’s cap of 6 per cent. The Reserve Bank has fixed a limit of four per cent, in which two per cent up-and-down relaxation has been given. In January 2022, retail inflation crossed the RBI limit for the first time. Retail inflation in January stood at 6.01 per cent. In February the following month, it increased marginally and reached 6.07. There has been a big increase in this in March and it has reached 6.95 percent. The retail inflation rate was recorded at 7.79 per cent in April. After this, it decreased in May and June.
Retail inflation increased in June due to rising food inflation. Food inflation in June at 7.75 per cent. It was 7.97 per cent in May. Inflation of vegetables has increased to 17.37 percent in June. Inflation in fuel and power rose to 10.39 per cent in June from 9.54 per cent in May. The reason for the fall in the inflation rate for the last three months is that in May the government had reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel, after which the prices of both the fuels came down.
Significantly, due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the supply of petroleum products has been affected and their prices have also increased. The wholesale inflation data for the previous months showed that crude oil, natural gas and metals played the most important role in driving inflation. The central government has tried to reduce the price of petrol and diesel by reducing the excise duty and the price of cooking oil has also come down. Despite this, inflation is expected to continue till the next financial year.
