CPI inflation slows to 5.91% on easing food prices, may increase in April

Prices are likely to rise again in April, according to analysts, with the actual impact of the Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown yet to be fully seen.

The consumer Price Index-based (CPI) inflation eased for the second month in a row in March, at 5.91 per cent, on the back of further reduction in rate of food inflation, the official data showed on Tuesday.
 

The CPI inflation was at 6.58 per cent in February. In January, it had touched a 68-month high of 7.59 per cent.
 

Food price inflation (CFPI) for March was 8.76 per cent, compared with 10.81 per cent in February, with the sharpest fall seen in vegetable prices, followed by egg and meat and fish.
 

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said that