Consumer price inflation rises to 8.59% in April

The annual rate of inflation based on all the all-India general consumer price index rose to 8.59 per cent in April 2014 from 8.31 per cent in the previous month (March 2014), provisional figures released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) showed.

The corresponding rates for rural and urban areas for April 2014 are 9.25 per cent and 7.69 per cent, respectively.

The CSO has revised the inflation rates for rural and urban areas for March 2014 to 8.89 per cent and 7.51 per cent, respectively.

Food inflation increased to 9.66 per cent in April from 9.1 per cent in March. Vegetables were costlier by 17.5 per cent in April against 16.8 per cent in the previous month. Prices of fruits were up 21.73 per cent against 17.19 per cent in March.

Milk prices saw an 11.42 per cent increase in April compared to an 11.02 per cent increase in the previous month.

The country's major milk suppliers Amul and Mother Dairy have increased prices in Delhi by Rs2 a litre.

Prices of egg, meat and fish have gone up by 9.41 per cent, while cereals and pulses became costlier by 9.67 per cent and 5.05 per cent respectively.

The rising prices are expected to further strain the Reserve Bank's monetary policy formulation even as the industry clamours for a reduction in interest rates.

The RBI is scheduled to announce its next monetary policy review on 1 June.