Inflation

Nominal GDP growth slowdown raises concerns despite strong real growth

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

Inflation targeting and Viksit Bharat at 2047: A framework for review

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

Delhi's inflation stays below national average in 2024-25: Govt report

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 .

New GST rates help cut Oct inflation by 85 bps to record low 0.25%: Experts

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, Q2 earnings, global trends to drive stock markets this week

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

Competition, rains drag services activity to 5-month low in October

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

10 yrs of inflation targeting framework: What's next?| BFSI Summit 2025 | Indian Economy

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)

BS BFSI Summit: 'Inflation-targeting worked, no major revamp required'

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 stays elevated but prices rose less than feared last month

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 ...

Wall Street hits record highs as cool inflation fuels Fed rate cut hopes

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

RBI flags algorithmic risks; Retail inflation hits 99 month low; Indian firms raise ₹5 47 trillion

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

Martin Kocher advocates for ECB calm with policy in a 'good place'

ECB officials have largely indicated that - after eight interest-rate cuts in a year - they are happy with current policy settings, though some are still saying further cuts shouldn't be excluded

India's wholesale inflation cools to 0.13% in Sep against 0.52% in Aug

September 2025 WPI-based inflation: The positive rate of inflation in September is primarily due to an increase in prices of manufacturing of food products

India's retail inflation slips to 99-month low of 1.54% in September

Inflation stood at 5.5 per cent in September 2024, with food prices rising over 9.2 per cent

September retail inflation eases to 1.54%, food inflation down at -2.28%

September CPI-based inflation: The inflation dipped in September after an increase in August that marked the first monthly rise in inflation in 10 months

Slower growth, under-target inflation will prompt another rate cut: BMI

BMI added that the central bank's growth and inflation forecasts for FY26 are too high, pointing to it as one of the main reasons behind the possible cuts

The wisdom of waiting: Why RBI held back despite inflation plunging

With inflation easing to 2.6%, RBI opts for caution, saving rate cuts for later

RBI MPC outcome: Why RBI may keep rates unchanged | Repo rate | Inflation | Interest rate

As the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee meets between September 29 and October 1, a Business Standard poll of 10 leading banks and financial institutions shows most economists expect no change in the r

Best of BS Opinion: GST 2.0 reforms miss underlying core principles

Today's pieces look at the available space for more rate cuts, the sorry state of tribunals, why GST reforms are not really that, and how India can harness its vast non-export MSME sector

RBI may cut rates by 25 bps as inflation stays benign: SBI Research

A SBI research report has pitched for a 25 bps rate cut, saying it is the 'best possible option' for the RBI, though some other experts opined that the central bank's rate-setting panel may again opt for status quo in its bi-monthly policy to be announced on October 1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to begin a three-day brainstorming on policy rate on Monday in the backdrop of the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the US imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian shipments. The decision will be announced on October 1 (Wednesday). The RBI reduced the key short-term lending rate (repo) by 100 basis points in three tranches beginning in February, amidst declining consumer price index (CPI) based inflation. However, the central bank opted for a status quo in the August bi-monthly monetary policy, taking a wait-and-watch approach to assess the impact of US tariffs and other geopolitical developments on the domestic ..