CPI inflation eases slightly to 6.69 per cent in August

The retail inflation, measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased slightly to 6.69 per cent in the month of August 2020 as compared to 6.73 per cent in July.

The retail inflation has soared beyond Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper margin of 6 per cent. The Indian central bank has been instructed by the government to keep the inflation within the range of 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.

Besides, CPI for the month of July was revised to 6.73 per cent from 6.93 per cent. National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation in its data has shown that the rural CPI (general) in August stood at 6.66 per cent as against 6.76 per cent in July and the urban CPI (general) stood at 6.80 per cent in August as against 6.70 per cent in July.

The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) or the inflation in the food basket eased to 9.05 per cent in the month of August. Also, the data revealed that the CFPI for July was revised to 9.27 per cent from 9.62 per cent. Further, the data indicated that the rural CFPI stood at 9.11 per cent in August as compared to 9.47 per cent in July. The urban CFPI saw a drop of 8.82 per cent in August versus 8.99 per cent in July.

If looked segment-wise, the rate of price rises in the ‘cereals and products’ category came down to 5.92 per cent during the month under review from 6.96 per cent in July. Inflation in ‘meat and fish’, ‘milk and products’, and pulses categories also slowed to 16.50 per cent, 6.15 per cent and 14.44 per cent, respectively. However, prices of eggs, fruits, and vegetables accelerated at a faster pace, with inflation print at 10.11 per cent, 1 per cent and 11.41 per cent. The data also showed that the retail inflation in the fuel and light category rose to 3.10 per cent from 2.80 per cent. Besides, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation said that the price data was collected from representatives from over 1,114 urban markets and 1,181 villages covering all states/UTs.