Retail inflation eases to 7.04% in May

Food price inflation, which had hit 8.31% in April, eased a little to 7.97% in May

India’s retail inflation eased marginally to 7.04% in May from 7.79% in April, reflecting a persistent uptick of over 6% in prices paid by consumers for the fifth successive month.

Inflation faced by rural consumers fell from 8.38% in April to 7.01% in May, but for households in urban areas, the pace of price rise was virtually flat month-on-month, moving from 7.09% in April to 7.08% in May.

Food price inflation, which had hit 8.31% in April, eased a little to 7.97% in May thanks to a decline in rural food inflation from 8.5% to 7.76%. However, the Consumer Food Price Index surged further for urban India from 8.09% in April to 8.2% in May.

On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index was up 0.94% in May compared to April, while the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) rose 1.59%. Within the CFPI, the rural food price index rose 1.34% and urban prices rose 1.84%.

Fuel and light inflation eased slightly from 10.8% in April to 9.54% in May and inflation in Transport and Communication also fell to 9.54% from almost 11% in April.

Price rise in clothing and footwear also remained high at 8.85%, only one percentage point lower than May’s 9.85% rate. Inflation in footwear prices remained in the double digits at 10.72% (compared to 12.12% in April), while clothing inflation fell from 9.51% in April to 8.53% in May.

Inflation in Household goods and services as well as Miscellaneous items, which indicated that price rise pressures had become all-pervasive and generalised in April, moderated marginally from 7.97% to 6.85% and 8.03% to 6.82%, respectively, in May.