Retail inflation virtually remains unchanged at 6.44% in February

Price rise faced by urban consumers inched up marginally from 6% in January to 6.1% in February

India’s retail inflation remained above the central bank’s 6% tolerance threshold for the second successive month in February at 6.44%, virtually unchanged from the 6.52% recorded in January, as per the National Statistical Office.

Price rise faced by urban consumers inched up marginally from 6% in January to 6.1% in February, while it eased fractionally for rural consumers from 6.85% to 6.72% in February.

Food inflation remained sticky, with the Consumer Food Price Index rising 5.95% in February, just a tad lower than the 6% recorded in January.

Vegetables remained in deflationary territory for the third successive month, with prices falling 11.6% from last year’s levels this February, compared to a 11.7% fall in January.

But many other food items continued to witness spiralling prices. Cereals inflation surged from 16.1% in January to 16.73%, milk products accelerated from 8.8% to 9.65% in February, and spices inflation remained over 20% for the third month in a row.

Inflation in fruits more than doubled from 2.9% in January to 6.4% in February, while prepared meals, snacks and sweets’ price rise sped from 7.8% to 8% in February.

Inflation in eggs eased from 8.8% in January to 4.3%, while the pace of price rise in meat and fish also moderated from over 6% to 3.4%. Oils and fats prices fell 0.5% last month from February 2022 levels, compared to a 1.41% rise in January.