Food Prices

The exemptions are expected to include beef and citrus products, although the people cautioned that President Trump had not made a final decision

October CPI-based inflation: India's food inflation dropped sharply in October, falling to -5.02 per cent from -2.28 per cent in September

Prices of vegetables, onions, potatoes, and broilers fell in October, bringing down the average cost of a home-cooked thali and extending deflation in essential commodities

This moderation was led by a fall in the prices of primary articles (-3.32 per cent) and the continued deflationary trend in the fuel and power segment

Primary food articles recorded a reduced deflation in August, led by an acceleration in the prices of wheat, milk and protein-rich items like egg, meat & fish

Inflation moved higher last month as the price of gas, groceries, hotel rooms and airfare rose, along with the cost of clothes and used cars. Consumer prices rose 2.9 per cent in August from a year earlier, the Labour Department said Tuesday, up from 2.7 per cent the previous month and the biggest increase since January. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1 per cent, the same as in July. Both figures are above the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target. The reading is the last data the Fed will receive before its key meeting next week, when policymakers are widely expected to cut their short-term rate to about 4.1 per cent from 4.3 per cent. Still, the figures underscore the challenges the Fed is facing as it experiences relentless pressure from President Donald Trump to cut rates. Even as inflation has ticked higher, recent government reports have also shown that hiring has slowed sharply in recent months and was lower than previously estimated last

In August last year, the retail inflation rate stood at 3.65 per cent

Rice prices eased, mainly because of a fall of Indian prices to three-year lows on rupee weakness and intense competition among exporters

The last time the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had been this benign was in June 2017, when it recorded a 1.46 per cent uptick

Key meal ingredients' prices, however, continued to trend lower from a year ago

The MPC's June 2025 decision to cut the repo rate by 50 basis points - more than expected - surprised markets

Despite the yearly decline, the cost of both vegetarian and non-veg thalis rose on a monthly basis in June, due to a rise in tomato prices, according to Crisil's Roti Rice Rate report

Retail inflation in rural areas in May stood at 2.59 per cent, while that in urban areas stood at 3.07 per cent

India's CPI-based retail inflation dropped to 2.82 per cent in May, the lowest since February 2019, led by food price easing and reinforcing the RBI's recent rate cuts

Notably, temperature shocks affect crops during critical growth stages. This year's Economic Survey also highlighted how extreme weather conditions disproportionately affected perishable food items

CPI-based inflation has now stayed below the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4% for the third consecutive month

The government won't hesitate to invoke the provisions of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to check speculative activities, hoarding and black marketing, a senior official said

The inflation was led by acceleration in the prices of manufactured goods categories like food products

Industrial output picks up at 5 per cent in January 2025 from 3.2 per cent in December

Prices of food items like cereals (7.33 per cent), wheat (9.75 per cent), pulses (5.08 per cent), onion (28.33 per cent), and milk (2.69 per cent) accelerated during the month