Retail Inflation Hits 14-Month High Of 3.99% In September

Retail inflation quickened to 3.99 per cent in September - its highest level recorded since July 2018, government data showed on Monday. The consumer inflation reading was higher than economists' estimates. However, retail or consumer inflation - measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - remained below the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4 per cent for the fourteenth month in a row. Consumer inflation in the month of August was revised higher to 3.28 per cent from 3.21 per cent, an official statement said. 

Analysts in a poll conducted by news agency Reuters had forecast consumer inflation to come in at 3.70 per cent in September.

The retail inflation picked up in September on the back of higher consumer inflation in the categories of 'vegetables' and 'meat and fish', in which inflation stood at 9.30 per cent and 9.99 per cent respectively.

Consumer inflation staying within the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s target range for the fourteenth month in a row leaves room for the central bank to further ease the monetary policy. The central bank has so far this year lowered the repo rate - or the key interest rate at which it lends short-term funds to commercial banks - by 135 points - or 1.35 percentage point - to 5.15 per cent.

Economists say Monday's data might lead to a further reduction in the repo rate at the Monetary Policy Committee's next bi-monthly review due in December.

Separate official data in the morning showed that wholesale inflation - gauged by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) - stood at 0.33 per cent in September, as against 1.08 per cent in the previous month, and 5.22 per cent in September 2018.