A Reuters poll had estimated the number to moderate to 2.39 per cent.
The annual rate of inflation for Primary Articles of WPI stood to 3.08 per cent in July as compared to 8.80 per cent in June.
Manufactured products’ inflation surged to 1.58 per cent in July from 1.43 per cent in June. The fuel and power inflation increased to 1.72 per cent as against 1.03 per cent in June.
“Positive rate of inflation in July, 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, other manufacturing etc,” the government said in a pres release.
India’s July retail inflation earlier on Monday slowed to 3.54 per cent, its lowest in nearly five years, on the back of a sharp decline in food inflation.A look at India’s kitchen staples:
Food inflation stood at 3.55 per cent in July as against 8.68 per cent in June. Inflation in wholesale onion prices accelerated to 88.7 per cent in July 2024, up from 6.84 per cent in July 2023.Wholesale vegetable prices contracted by 8.93 per cent in July against 67.59 per cent in July 2023. Pulses’ prices increased by 20.27 per cent, higher than the 9.59 per cent figure seen a year ago.
Inflation in wholesale potato prices in July 2024 stood at 76.23 per cent as compared to a contraction of 24.06 per cent last year.
The fruit inflation came in at 15.62 per cent against a contraction of 9.97 per cent in July 2023.
“The progress towards our goal of price stability has been uneven due to large and persistent supply side shocks, especially in food items,” said Reserve Bank of India Governor, Shaktikanta Das during the recently concluded Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
“We, therefore, need to remain vigilant to ensure that inflation moves sustainably towards the target, while supporting growth. This approach would be net positive for sustained high growth.”
Das & Co on inflation:
RBI during the August MPC meeting had left its inflation forecast for this fiscal year unchanged at 4.5 per cent even amid caution on food price trajectory that may hurt core inflation and intensifying geopolitical tensions which pose a threat to any comfort on crude prices easing to multi-month lows.
The MPC voted to leave the rates unchanged at 6.5 per cent.
Das said the MPC may look through high food inflation if it is transitory but in an environment of persisting high food inflation, as we are experiencing now, the MPC can not afford to do so.
Households see inflation in India rising by 20 basis points each over the next three months and year, according to the households’ inflation expectations survey released by the Reserve Bank of India on its website Thursday.