HIGH FOOD PRICES DRIVE UP RETAIL INFLATION TO 5.55% IN NOV' 23, EXPERTS SEE FURTHER RISE

The price data are collected from selected 1114 urban markets and 1181 villages covering all states/UTs

- NIVEDITA MUKHERJEE

India’s retail Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shot up to 5.55 per cent in November 2023, from 4.9 per cent in October 2023, driven by food items -- -- as shows official data released on Tuesday – and uncomfortably above the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) long-term target of 4 per cent which shifts the possibility of a rate cut to not before the August 2024.

The CPI uptick in November was entirely driven by the food and beverages segment, with all the other group either reporting a lower or an unchanged year-on-year inflation print in November 2023 relative to October 2023. The price data are collected from selected 1114 urban markets and 1181 villages covering all states/ UTs. During the month of November 2023, NSO collected prices from 99.9 per cent villages and 98.6 per cent urban markets while the market-wise prices reported therein were 90.0 per cent for rural and 92.2 per cent for urban.