India’s retail inflation rises to 4.38% in June, Telangana tops the list
As per the Consumer Food Price Index, food inflation rose to 5.32 per cent in June from 4.78 per cent in May, suggesting the household food costs are once again under pressure
India's retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped to 4.38 per cent in June from 3.93 per cent in May, driven by higher food costs, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday.
As per the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), food inflation rose to 5.32 per cent in June from 4.78 per cent in May, suggesting the household food costs are once again under pressure.
Headline inflation has now risen above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) medium-term target of 4 per cent after remaining below it in May.
In June, retail inflation in rural areas was 4.74 per cent, while in urban areas it was 3.92 per cent. Additionally, food inflation was greater in rural India (5.45 per cent) than in urban areas (5.09 per cent).
The month's housing inflation rate was 2.1 per cent. In rural areas, it was 2.66 per cent, while in urban areas, it was 1.9 per cent.
Food and beverage inflation in the CPI basket was 5.05 per cent, while restaurant and lodging service inflation was 6.91 per cent. Personal care, social protection, and other goods and services continued to see high inflation at 16.72 per cent.
Ginger saw the most price increase of any food item, going from 32.5 per cent in May to 50.41 per cent in June. Inflation for tomatoes was 31.92 per cent year over year, compared to 20.52 per cent for monacca and raisins (kishmish).
Although it was less than 155.25 per cent in May, silver jewellery continued to experience the highest inflation among essential goods at the item level, at 133.21 per cent in June. The inflation rate for gold, diamond and platinum jewellery was 36.82 per cent.
However, a few things continued to be less expensive than they were a year ago. Prices for potatoes fell by 20.34 per cent, followed by peas (-9.67 per cent), vehicles and jeeps (-6.89 per cent), cumin (jeera) (-3.75 per cent), and motorbikes and scooters (-3.49 per cent).
Telangana had the highest retail inflation rate in June at 6.36 per cent, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry at 5.39 per cent each, among states and Union Territories with a population of more than 5 million (according to the 2011 Census). Odisha completed the top five with 5.15 per cent inflation, while Tamil Nadu posted 5.24 per cent.
