New Delhi, March 14 (FN Agency) India’s retail inflation measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) inched up to 6.07 per cent in February from 6.01 per cent in January, showed the data released by National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday. The CPI-based inflation was 5.03 per cent in the month of February last year. The inflation rate in February is again above the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s upper tolerance and may trigger monetary action to calm down prices. This is the second month when CPI-based inflation has remained above 6 per cent in the last many months. The central bank is tasked to maintain CPI-based inflation between 2-6 per cent and hence maintain price stability. It factors in retail inflation while framing its bi-monthly monetary policy. “CPI inflation reading came marginally north of RBI’s upper threshold limit.
The inflation trajectory is weighed heavily on the upside with elevated commodity prices, pass through of earlier fuel price hikes and the higher raw material costs. However, we do not expect any shift in policy decisions and stance in near term as RBI continues to focus on durable growth,” said Upasna Bhardwaj, Senior Economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank. Commenting on the inflation numbers, ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said, “With no change telegraphed so far, and the uncertainty stemming from the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we expect another status quo policy in April 2022, despite the Feb 2022 CPI inflation print exceeding 6 per cent.” However, anchoring of inflationary expectations may warrant a less dovish tone of the policy document, she added. The government data released early today had showed wholesale inflation stayed firm in double digit and came in at 13.11 per cent in February as compared to 12.96 per cent in the previous month.
The high rate of WPI inflation in February, 2022 was primarily on account of rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, crude petroleum & natural gas and food articles and non-food articles among others. The higher WPI inflation generally has its impact on retail inflation after 2-4 months. Meanwhile, consumer food price index (CFPI) also went up in February 2022 to 5.85 per cent from 5.43 per cent in January. As per the official data, oil and fat inflation rose to 16.44 per cent year-on-year in February while meat and fish increased 7.45 per cent. Cereals and products surged 3.95 per cent together adding to rise in overall inflation of the food basket. The price data are collected from selected 1,114 urban markets and 1,181 villages covering all states/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO on a weekly roster. “During the month of February 2022, NSO collected prices from 99.6 per cent villages and 98.2 per cent urban markets while the market-wise prices reported therein were 89.6 per cent for rural and 92.9 per cent for urban,” said Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI).