India's consumer price inflation hits a 7-month high of 3.05% in May
13 Jun 2019
Consumer price inflation in the country based on the consumer price index increased further to 3.05 per cent in May 2019 from 2.92 per cent in April, official data released on Wednesday showed.
The inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 4.87 per cent in May 2018.
Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that inflation in food basket rose further to 1.83 per cent in may 2019 from 1.10 per cent in April.
While RBI has lowered its policy interest rate twice in the recent past, the consumer price inflation rate has been ruling well below the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term inflation target for some months now, the continuous rise in inflation rate opens up the possibility of the RBI scrutiny.
Consumer price inflation for the rural areas, however, declined slightly to 1.86 per cent in May 2019 from 1.87 per cent in April. It was 4.88 per cent in May 2018.
Consumer price inflation for the urban areas increased to 4.51 per cent in May 2019 from 4.23 per cent in April. It was 4.72 per cent in April 2018.
Food price inflation for rural areas was lower at (-) 0.22 per cent in May 2019 against (-) 0.80 per cent in April. It was 3.77 per cent in April.
Food price inflation for urban areas rose to 5.87 per cent in May 2019 from 4.64 per cent in April. It was 1.66 per cent in May 2018.