Inflation

India is preparing to rejig methodology for computing CPI and revamp monetary policy mandate for targeting retail inflation in 2026 after a year of benign price situation due to subdued food cost and GST reduction. Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation remained in the Reserve Bank's comfort zone (2-6 per cent) and is likely to stay that way in the next year also, keeping open the possibility of at least one more reduction in rates by the central bank in the coming months. Besides cooling food prices, the decision of the government to reduce GST rates on about 400 items in September helped in further improving the price situation in the country. The wholesale price index (WPI), too, showed clear signs of easing of inflationary pressures through 2025. Early months recorded positive but declining WPI inflation, reflecting softening price pressures especially in food and fuel categories. By June, WPI entered deflation and the downward trend continued with negative prints in

India's inflation rate picked up in November from a record low in the previous month but stayed well below the central bank's 4% target

The report was complicated by the federal government shutdown, which prevented the BLS from collecting much of the October price data

The ECB now sees inflation at 1.9% in 2026, above its previous projection for 1.7% while 2027 inflation is projected at 1.8%, below the 1.9% seen in September

The Bank of England on Thursday cut its key interest rate for the first time in four months amid signs that the stubbornly high inflation that has plagued British consumers and businesses is beginning to ease. Policymakers at Britain's central bank voted 5-4 to reduce the base rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75 per cent on Thursday, the lowest since February 2023. The move came a day after the Office for National Statistics reported that consumer price inflation slowed to 3.2 per cent in the 12 months through November, from 3.6 per cent a month earlier. The figure was below the Bank of England's forecast of 3.4 per cent. That gave policymakers room to cut interest rates in an effort to bolster Britain's stagnant economy. Statistics released earlier this week showed a weakening jobs market, with the number of job vacancies declining and the unemployment rate rising to 5.1 per cent, the highest since January 2021. Even so, the bank's Monetary Policy Committee was divide

If approved, the plan would cross the previous record 115.2 trillion yen initial budget that was cleared under former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba for fiscal 2025

Inflation in manufactured products that carries weightage of over 64 per cent in the index, narrowed to a 14-month low of 1.33 per cent in November

India may see a goldilocks 2026 with strong growth and low inflation, but sustaining this balance will hinge on reforms, RBI policy support, fiscal consolidation and easing external pressures

Gold and silver prices are poised to maintain their record-setting rally in the coming week as investors focus on global inflation data and key macroeconomic indicators that shape central bank policy paths, analysts said. The spotlight will be on macroeconomic numbers, including inflation readings from India, the US, Europe, and the UK, as well as provisional manufacturing and services PMI data across major economies. In the US, traders will also track non-farm payroll/ weekly jobless claims, housing data and consumer sentiments, which will also shape the direction of bullion prices, they added. "Gold and silver's momentum will remain positive as (traders) focus on key data from China, followed by inflation numbers from India, the US, and the UK, along with provisional manufacturing/ services PMI data from across regions," Pranav Mer, Vice President, EBG - Commodity & Currency Research, JM Financial Services, said. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures appreciated Rs

Despite strong real growth, slowing nominal GDP and a sharply weaker deflator raise fiscal concerns, challenging Budget assumptions for FY26

India's ill-conceived and hurriedly adopted inflation targeting is one such initiative that needs to be carefully evaluated

The inflation rate in Delhi remained substantially lower than in other metro cities and the national average last year, especially in the fuel and light group, according to a government report. The report prepared by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Delhi government, however, showed that the inflation rate rose in the food & beverages and housing sectors. The report assessed the Consumer Price Index (Industrial Workers IW) between Delhi and 14 other metros. These were Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Amritsar and Lucknow. The report said that during 2024-25, CPI (IW), Kolkata, recorded the highest increase (3.6 per cent) while it was (3.4 per cent) at the All India level, followed by Mumbai (3.0 per cent), Delhi (1.8 per cent), and no change was observed in the case of Chennai. Among the selected cities assessed by the report, Delhi had the third lowest Consumer Price Index .

The GST rate cuts brought down retail inflation by 85 basis points to a record low of 0.25 per cent in October and the declining trend is likely to continue in the coming months, according to experts. The Consumer Price Index- (CPI-) based retail inflation was lowest in the current series (base year 2012), which captures data since January 2014. CPI inflation increased in case of personal care and effects, owing to higher gold prices, at 57.8 per cent, an SBI research report said, adding that if if the precious metal is excluded, headline CPI turns the print negative at -0.57 per cent year-on-year. "We believe, given the current trend, CPI, excluding gold, would remain negative even in the next two months," the 'SBI Ecowrap' said. GST rationalisation, which came into effect from September 22, has also led to reduction in CPI inflation. "We earlier estimated that CPI will moderate by 65-75 bps owing to GST. However, the decline in CPI inflation due to GST has been higher at around

Inflation data, quarterly earnings and global trends will be the major driving factors for stock markets this week, analysts said. Moreover, the trading activity of foreign investors would also influence the equity market trends. "This week will be crucial, with several key macroeconomic data releases scheduled. On the domestic front, focus will be on India's CPI inflation and WPI inflation data, which will provide insights into the inflation trajectory and policy outlook. "On the earnings front, quarterly results from prominent companies such as ONGC, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Tata Steel and Oil India will be closely tracked for sectoral cues," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said. The rupee-dollar trend and movement of Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, would also be crucial in driving investors' sentiment. Ponmudi R, the CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said, "A slew of key domestic and global macroeconomic factors are expect

India's services PMI slipped to 58.9 in October, a five-month low, as competition and rains slowed growth even as demand and GST relief supported business optimism

Almost a decade after India shifted to a formal inflation-targeting regime under the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

At BS BFSI Insight Summit 2025, a high-level panel of economists said that flexible inflation targeting has largely worked in keeping inflation under control and no major revamp is required

US inflation remained elevated last month as the costs of some imported goods rose while rental prices cooled. Consumer prices increased 3 per cent in September from a year earlier, the Labour Department said Friday, up from 2.9 per cent in August. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also rose 3 per cent, a decline from 3.1 per cent in the previous month. Both figures are above the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target. The report on the consumer price index is being issued more than a week late because of the government shutdown, now in its fourth week. The Trump administration recalled some Labour Department employees to produce the figures because they are used to set the annual cost-of-living adjustment for roughly 70 million Social Security recipients. The figures reflect a smaller increase than many economists had forecast, and will likely encourage the Federal Reserve to cut its key interest rate when it meets next week for the second time this ...

The Fed is set to cut rates by 25 basis points in its policy meeting scheduled on October 29

RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J has warned that unchecked risks from algorithms, data dependence, and emerging technologies could spread quickly through the financial system