Retail inflation eases to 12-month low of 5.72% in December

New Delhi: Retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), eased to a one-year low of 5.72 percent in December from 5.88 percent the previous month. As per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data released yesterday, the retail inflation slipped to lowest level since December 2021.Food Price Index dipped to 4.19 percent in December from 4.67 percent in November.

The CPI has come below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper margin of 6



percent for the first time in the calendar year 2022. The government has mandatedthe central bank to maintain retail inflation at four per cent with a margin oftwo per cent on either side.

In its December monetary policy meet, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said that RBI would continue its fight against inflation despite the worst being"behind us", suggesting the central bank was likely to remain hawkishi n the near term.