New Delhi: Retail inflation increased to 6.09 per cent in June, mainly on account of higher prices of food items, the government data showed Monday. Food inflation in June increased by 7.87 per cent, according to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
The inflation figures are based on data collected from limited markets in view of the restrictions imposed on account of coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said in a release. The data collected, however, did not meet the adequacy criteria for generating robust estimates of CPIs at the state-level, it added.
The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index was 3.18 per cent in June 2019.
The government had released truncated CPI data for April and May in the backdrop of the lockdown to contain COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the data, the annual inflation in cereals and related products was 6.49 per cent, and 16.22 per cent in the ‘meat and fish’ segment. For ‘pulses and products’, it was 16.68 per cent, while that of spices stood at 11.74 per cent. The inflation in vegetables basket was 1.86 per cent, while it was in negative zone for fruits. In the ‘fuel and light’ segment, it was 2.69 per cent. The inflation was ruling at 6.2 per cent in rural India and 5.91 per cent in urban areas.
In view of the preventive measures and announcement of the nationwide lockdown by the government to contain spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the price collection of CPI through personal visits of price collectors was suspended.
During the lockdown, prices were collected through telephonic call from the designated outlets in selected markets, which was supplemented by information collected during the personal purchase of field staff for the items being transacted from neighborhood outlets, keeping in view the travel advisories.
As the various pandemic related restrictions were gradually lifted and non-essential activities started resuming operations, NSO collected prices from 1,030 urban markets and 998 villages, for commodities that were available and transacted in June, 2020.
The headline CPI inflation rate that was released after a gap of three months posted a negative surprise, revealing an inflation rate of 6.1 per cent for June 2020, well above expectations, driven by miscellaneous items, clothing and footwear, and pan, tobacco and intoxicants, Aditi Nayar, Vice President, Icra said.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank mainly factors in retail inflation while arriving at key policy rates.
