Retail inflation jumps to 7.35% in December, crosses RBI’s comfort level

New Delhi, Jan 13: Retail inflation jumped sharply to 7.35 per cent in December 2019, surpassing the RBI's comfort level, mainly due to high food prices, government data showed on Monday.

The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.11 per cent in December 2018 and 5.54 per cent in November 2019.

As per the government data, the food inflation rose to 14.12 per cent in December as against (-) 2.65 per cent in the same month of 2018. It was 10.01 per cent in November 2019.

The central government has mandated the Reserve Bank of India to keep inflation in the range of 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.