India's retail inflation jumps to 6.3% in May, breaches RBI target

Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has jumped primarily due to higher food and fuel prices. It has breached the Reserve Bank of India’s target range of 2-6 per cent for the first time in five months.

India’s retail inflation has spiked sharply to 6.3 per cent in May after easing to 4.23 per cent in April, as per data released by the government on Monday. Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has jumped primarily due to higher food and fuel prices. It has breached the Reserve Bank of India’s target range of 2-6 per cent for the first time in five months. A poll conducted by Reuters had earlier suggested that the inflation rate for May would be 5.30 per cent. It may be noted that food inflation rose to 5.01 per cent in May, compared to 2.02 per cent in April. The core inflation in May stood at 6.6 per cent.