New Delhi: Retail inflation rose to a seven-month high of 6.01 per cent in January as food items like vegetables, meat, fish became costlier. This level of retail inflation is slightly above the Reserve Bank’s satisfactory range.
According to official data released on Monday, retail inflation in the oil and fat segment stood at 18.7 per cent. Inflation in other segments, including fuel and lighting, textiles and footwear, and transport and communication sectors, rose 9 per cent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the inflation figure for December 2021 has been revised to 5.66 per cent from 5.59 per cent. It was 4.06 percent in January 2021. Earlier, inflation stood at a high of 6.26 per cent in June 2021.
According to the inflation data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday, inflation in food articles stood at 5.43 per cent in January 2022 as against 4.05 per cent in the previous month. Inflation in cereals and its products rose to 3.39 per cent in January from 2.62 per cent in December 2021.
Retail inflation rises to 6.01% in January 2022 as against 5.66% in December 2021: Govt of India pic.twitter.com/4dBMpRVUfZ
— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2022
As per the data, inflation in meat and fish category rose to 5.47 per cent from 4.58 per cent in the previous month. Inflation in the case of vegetables rose to 5.19 per cent as against a fall of 2.99 per cent in December. However, inflation in the oil and fat segment moderated to 18.70 per cent. Inflation in the fuel and lighting segment eased to 9.32 per cent from 10.95 per cent in December.
The Reserve Bank, while considering monetary policy, mainly takes into account inflation based on the Consumer Price Index. The government has given the responsibility to the central bank to maintain the retail inflation rate at four percent with a variation of two percent.(Agency)