India's retail inflation eases to 7.04 pct in May
New Delhi: India's retail inflation eased to 7.04 per cent in May 2022 from 7.79 per cent in the previous month, according to data released by the government on Monday.
Retail inflation was 6.30 per cent in May 2021.
While inflation has softened, it still stays above the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s comfort level.
In its bid to douse the inflation fire, the RBI has increased the repo rate by a significant 90 basis points (bps) since May (40bps in May 2022 and 50bps in June 2022).
The RBI is tasked to maintain retail inflation in the range of 2-6 per cent. It factors in retail inflation while finalising its monetary policy.
The upward trend in consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation in the last few months has been a cause of worry for the government and policy-makers.
Last month, the government reduced central excise duty by Rs 8 per litre for petrol and by Rs 6 per litre for diesel providing relief to the common man, reports UNI.
It also allowed duty-free import of 20 lakh tonnes each of crude soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil for two years till March 31, 2024 to cool down rising prices of essential items.
At 7.79 per cent in April, retail inflation had reached its eight-year high sounding red alert for the policy-makers.
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