Retail inflation rises to 5.55% in November
The Hindu
November CPI rose 5.55%, food inflation 8.7%. Rural inflation higher at 5.85%, urban 5.3%. Month-on-month CPI up 0.54%, food 1.05%. Overall CPI 5.88%, food 4.7%. RBI expects inflation to avg 5.6% Oct-Dec, may accelerate to 6.4% this month.
Consumer prices rose at a three-month high pace of 5.55% in November from 4.87% in October, with food price inflation surging to 8.7% from 6.6% driven by a surge in the inflation rate for vegetables, pulses, fruits, and sugar.
While rural inflation levels were higher at 5.85% than the price rise in urban areas, which was 5.3%, food prices paid by urban consumers rose at a sharper pace of 9.3% while they were up 8.4% for their rural counterparts. On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.54%, with rural prices up 0.64%, and food prices rising 1.05% from October levels.
Overall consumer price inflation stood at 5.88% in November 2022, with the food price index rising 4.7%.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which had warned last week of a spike in inflation in November due to hardening prices of some vegetables, expects inflation to average 5.6% between October and December. This implies that price rise may accelerate to around 6.4% in the current month.