According to official data, India’s retail inflation spiked rapidly to a nine-month high of 7.44 percent in July. Compared to the 4.87 percent recorded in June, this is a significant increase.
Economists generally anticipated that the consumer price index-based inflation would exceed the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit of 6%. The real number, though, is more than what most experts had predicted. With this, retail inflation crossed the RBI’s 2–6% barrier for the first time in four months.
The significant increase in vegetable costs over the past few months and the similarly sharp increase in the price of grains like rice and wheat are to blame for the recent surge in retail inflation.
It is important to note that due to the unpredictable weather across the nation, food prices, which make up over half of the inflation basket, have increased significantly over the past two months. As a result, certain essential kitchen staples, like tomatoes, saw their costs rise significantly, dramatically raising retail inflation.