Retail inflation fell marginally to 5.3 percent in August mainly due to easing food prices, official data showed on Monday. The retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 5.59 percent in July and 6.69 percent in August 2020.
As per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), inflation in the food basket was 3.11 percent in August compared to 3.96 percent in the preceding month.
The Reserve Bank had kept the key interest rate unchanged in its monetary policy review in August. It focuses mainly on the CPI while deciding its bi-monthly monetary policy.
The RBI has projected the CPI inflation at 5.7 percent during 2021-22 -- 5.9 percent in the second quarter, 5.3 percent in the third, and 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of the fiscal, with risks, broadly balanced. CPI inflation for Q1 2022-23 is projected at 5.1 percent.
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