Retail Inflation Falls Marginally To 6.4% In February From 6.5% In January

The annual retail inflation rate for India eased to 6.44 per cent in February from 6.52 per cent in January, government data showed today.

The retail inflation rate for rural areas stood at 6.7 per cent compared to 6.1 per cent in urban areas. Food Inflation eased to 5.9 per cent for the month of February from 6 per cent In January.

The inflation rate for the food basket was 5.95 per cent in February, lower than 6 per cent in January.

The Reserve Bank has been mandated by the government to ensure the retail inflation remains at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.

CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation was above the Reserve Bank of India's targeted limit of 6 per cent for the second time in four months. 

The previous high was 6.77 per cent in October.

Except for November and December 2022, retail inflation has remained above the RBI's upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent since January 2022.

The RBI has hiked the repo by 250 basis points since May last year to control the rising prices. The latest hike of 25 basis points in February pushed the policy rate to 6.50 per cent.