India's retail inflation likely to rose in January, says RBI Governor

New Delhi, February 14: India's retail inflation for January, which is scheduled to be announced later in the day, might have accelerated to 6 percent, the upper tolerance limit of the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.

"Today's inflation print is expected to be close to 6 percent that should not surprise," Das said at a media briefing after the RBI Board meet. Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 5.59 percent in December 2021. It was recorded at 4.59 percent in November 2021.

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Noting that retail inflation is likely to touch the upper end of the RBI's target band of 6 percent, Das said it should not create any panic.

"If you look at the momentum of inflation right from last October onward, it is on a downward slope. It's primarily the statistical reasons, the base effect, which has resulted in higher inflation especially in Q3," the RBI Governor said.

"The same base effect will play in different ways in the coming months. Today's inflation print is expected to be close to 6 percent. That should not surprise or create any alarm because we have taken that into consideration," he added.

The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, is scheduled to announce the monthly CPI inflation data later in the day on Monday.

According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Monday, India's wholesale inflation eased to 12.96 percent in January from 13.56 percent in the previous month.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation has declined consistently in recent months. It fell from 14.87 percent in November 2021 to 13.56 percent in December 2021 and further to 12.96 percent in January 2022.

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-PTC News