Retail Inflation Witnesses Slight Ease At 5.48% In November, Still Above RBI’s Target

Retail inflation rose to 5.48% last month, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released on Thursday. This marks a slower rate of increase compared to October's 6.21%.

Although the pace of price growth has slowed, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rate remained above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% tolerance level, with a deviation of two percentage points on either side, reported the Hindustan Times.

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Food prices, which have been the primary driver of high inflation in recent quarters, continued to rise at 9.04%. However, this was lower than October's food-price inflation of 10.47%.

Cereal prices increased by 6.88%, slightly lower than October's 6.94%, while inflation in pulses stood at 7.43%, down from 9.81% the previous month.

Most analysts had expected a slight decline in retail prices for November, given the improving food supplies.

Persistent food inflation, which has strained household budgets, has been a major concern for the RBI.

Despite a slowdown in economic growth, the Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.5% in its final monetary policy meeting of the year, citing ongoing inflation risks.

"Achieving the right balance between inflation and growth, a key trade-off for all economies, is the most important task for the Reserve Bank of India," said outgoing RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das in his final official remarks on Tuesday.