Page 2 - Consumer Price Index

Retail inflation drops to 2.1% in June; WPI slips into deflation at -0.13%

Vegetable and pulses prices see steepest fall in years; WPI turns negative too

India's retail inflation eases to 2.1% in June, lowest since Jan 2019

June 2025 CPI: Inflation for the month remained below the RBI's medium-term target of 4%, continuing a downward trend driven by base effects and softening food and fuel prices

Watershed moments: Introduction of RBI's flexible inflation targeting model

FIT model set to be reviewed amid call for excluding food inflation

Icra pegs India's GDP growth at 6.2% for FY26, down from 6.5% in FY25

Leading rating agency ICRA, in its latest outlook, said India's real GDP growth for 2025-26 will be 6.2 per cent, down from 6.5 per cent in the preceding financial year. Real Gross Value Added (GVA) growth is also expected to ease to 6 per cent from 6.4 per cent. Regarding inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to be above 3.5 per cent, while the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) will be over 1.8 per cent for the current fiscal, the report added. ICRA has forecast the fiscal deficit to be 4.4 per cent of GDP for 2025-26, with the current account deficit projected at 1.2 per cent to 1.3 per cent during the same period. According to ICRA, rural demand is likely to remain upbeat, aided by Rabi cash flows and above-normal reservoir levels. It also said that the combination of the sizeable income tax relief in the Union budget for 2025-26, rate cuts leading to lower EMIs and moderation in food inflation is expected to boost household disposable incomes. The report added that

Trump urges Fed to cut rates by 1% after May inflation data release

Donald Trump called the May Consumer Price Index a 'great' number and wrote on Truth Social that the "Fed should lower one full point

Revised CPI series may track more markets, ecom data in major cities

Currently, monthly price data is collected from 1181 villages and 1114 markets in 310 selected towns by the field operations division of the NSO

US trimming collection of consumer price data, raising reliability fears

The Bureau of Labour Statistics stated that the cuts would have 'minimal impact' on estimates of the overall inflation rate, though they could "increase the volatility" of more detailed measures

US inflation data collection hurt by Trump-era hiring freeze: Report

The CPI temporarily reduced the number of outlets and quotes it attempted to collect due to a staffing shortage in certain CPI cities

Low inflation is India's tailwind, rate cuts need to watch for global risks

It provides policymakers with much-needed room to counter any global shocks

India's retail inflation eases to 3.16% in April; lowest since July 2019

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

Retail inflation slid further to 3% in Apr; easing room for RBI rate cut

In March, retail inflation stood at 3.34 per cent- the lowest since August 2019

Stance change means possibilities of more rate cuts: MPC's Nagesh Kumar

Kumar says that the impact of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States (US) is mixed and there is fiscal space to support public expenditure

Resetting the base year for CPI-AL/RL likely to impact minimum wages

After almost four decades, the government is planning to revise the base year for CPI for agri and rural workers, with more weightage likely to be given to items such as health and education

Mospi mulls ecommerce price index to monitor digital platform rates

This assumes significance as India's e-commerce market is projected to rise from Rs 12.2 trillion ($147.3 billion) in 2024 to Rs 24.1 trillion ($ 292.3 billion) by 2028

Inflation eases, but RBI may not go for aggressive rate cuts: Economists

India's headline consumer price index (CPI) inflation eased to 3.61 per cent in February-the lowest since July 2024-on the back of a sharp decline in food inflation

In last inflation print before MPC meet, February CPI likely near 4% goal

The RBI had projected the CPI inflation for the current financial year (FY25) at 4.8 per cent with the headline figure in March quarter remaining at 4.4 per cent

Retail inflation eases to 4.61% for farm workers, 4.73% for rural labourers

Retail inflation for farm and rural workers eased slightly to 4.61 per cent and 4.73 per cent, respectively, in January from 5.01 per cent and 5.05 per cent in December 2024, showed the government data released on Monday. The All-India Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) decreased by 4 points and 3 points, respectively, for the month of January 2025, reaching 1,316 and 1,328 points, the labour ministry said in a statement. According to the statement, the CPI-AL and CPI-RL stood at 1,320 points and 1,331 points, respectively in December 2024. "The year-on-year inflation rates based on CPI-AL and CPI-RL for the month of January, 2025 were recorded at 4.61 per cent and 4.73 per cent, respectively, compared to 7.52 per cent and 7.37 per cent in January, 2024. The corresponding figures for December, 2024 were 5.01 per cent for CPI-AL and 5.05 per cent for CPI-RL," it stated. The food index for CPI-AL decreased from 1,262 points in Decemb

Retail inflation for farm, rural workers drops to 5.01% and 5.05% in Dec

Retail inflation for farm and rural workers eased to 5.01 per cent and 5.05 per cent in December from 5.35 per cent and 5.47 per cent, respectively, in November 2024. The All-India Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) remained unchanged for December 2024 at 1,320 and 1,331 points, respectively, a labour ministry statement said. According to the statement, the CPI-AL and CPI-RL were 1320 points and 1331 points, respectively, in November 2024. The year-on-year inflation rates based on CPI-AL and CPI-RL for December 2024 were recorded at 5.01 per cent and 5.05 per cent, respectively, compared to 7.71 per cent and 7.46 per cent in December 2023, it added. The corresponding figures for November 2024 were 5.35 per cent for CPI-AL and 5.47 per cent for CPI-RL.

Wholesale price inflation soars to 2.37% in Dec; food prices see decline

The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation stood at 0.86 per cent in December last year

Rupee recovers from record low, rises 21 paise to 86.49 against US dollar

The rupee rebounded from its lowest-ever level and appreciated 21 paise to 86.49 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on the back of retreating American currency and easing crude oil prices. According to forex traders, the Indian currency found support from positive inflation numbers and some recovery in domestic equity markets even though the outflow of foreign funds continued to play a negative role. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.57 and pared further losses to trade at 86.49 against the greenback in initial deals, 21 paise higher from its previous close. On Monday, the rupee logged its steepest single-day fall in nearly two years and ended the session 66 paise down at its historic low of 86.70 against the US dollar. The fall of 66 paise in one session was the steepest since February 6, 2023, when the unit had lost 68 paise. The Indian currency has plunged more than Re 1 in the past two weeks from the closing level of 85.52 on December 30. I