NEW DELHI: With high food prices refusing to ebb, the country’s retail inflation in June increased to a four-month high of 5.08% from 4.75% in the previous month. According to government data released on Friday, food inflation surged to 9.4% for June, while the Consumer Price Index-based retail inflation crossed the 5% mark after three months.
Meanwhile, another set of data released on Friday showed that India’s industrial output growth reached a seven-month high of 5.9% in May, up from 5% in April, on the back of a significant increase in electricity generation and production of consumer durables. However, manufacturing growth stood at a lower-than-expected 4.6%.
A quick analysis of the retail inflation data showed that the spike in June was largely due to a 14% month-on-month surge in vegetable prices, which clocked a 29.3% year-on-year growth. The prices of pulses surged 16.1% in June from a year ago. “Inflation for sub-groups — eggs, spices, meat & fish and pulses & products — decreased as compared to May 2024,” said a government release.
The Reserve Bank of India, which has the legal mandate to control inflation, has time and again expressed its discomfort with high food prices. In the previous month, food inflation was 8.7%, even as overall inflation had dropped to a 12-month low.
The data released by the National Statistical Office showed that rural inflation is higher at 5.66% urban inflation which came in at 4.39%. On the other hand, food inflation is higher in urban areas than in rural areas, the data showed.