Monsoon bodes well for price rise: govt.

‘Prolonged phase of rise in prices has dissipated’

The promising monsoon augurs well for India’s battle against high inflation, a top government official said on Thursday, ahead of July’s retail inflation data expected on Friday.

Consumer price inflation was at 7.01% in June and 7.04% in May, after touching 7.85% in April, the highest in almost eight years. But, the government said it believed worries of a prolonged phase of price rise that had cropped up after the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict had dissipated.

“While various measures by the government and the RBI to rein in prices have begun showing results, the monsoon’s performance so far is half the battle won. Yes, there are concerns about cloud bursts and inadequate rains in some parts, and we have to keep an eye on this,” the official said. 

Inflation is not just about the headline number but about the items that are causing it and hurting the poor the most, so the government has stepped in wherever prices have seen sharp spurts, be it food, edible oils or even steel, the person said.

“We have also been asking industry sectors, that have not passed on price cuts to consumers despite our policy interventions, to explain,” the official noted.