Retail inflation declines to 5.66% in March

New Delhi: Retail inflation fell to a 15-month low of 5.66 percent in March, mainly due to a decline in food prices, government data showed on Wednesday. The inflation figure in March is within the RBI's comfort zone as it is below six percent. The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 6.44 percent in February 2023 and 6.95 percent in the year-ago period.

According to the National Statistical Office, the inflation in the food basket was 4.79 percent in March, as against 5.95 percent in February and 7.68 percent in the year-ago period. Retail inflation rose from 5.7 percent in December 2022 to 6.4 percent in February 2023 on the back of higher inflation in cereals, milk, and fruits and slower deflation in vegetable prices. Reserve Bank of India has projected the CPI inflation at 5.2 percent for FY2023-24, with 5.1 percent in Q1, 5.4 percent in Q2, 5.4 percent in Q3, and 5.2 percent in Q4, and risks evenly balanced.

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