Retail inflation drops to three-month low

Easing of food prices, mainly milk and vegetables, pulled down the March retail inflation to 3-month low of 5.17 per cent. The retail inflation as measured by Consumer Price Index was 5.37 per cent in February, and 5.19 per cent in January. It was 8.25 per cent in March last year. The easing prices of milk, vegetables and fruits brought down the overall food inflation to 6.14 per cent in March, from 6.79 per cent recorded in February. Inflation declined for ‘cereals and products’, although it was up in the case of protein rich items like ‘meat and fish’, as per the govt data released today.

The rate of price rise in the food and beverages segment as a whole was 6.2 per cent in March, lower than 6.76 per cent in the previous month. The CPI-based retail inflation has been calculated with a new base year of 2012.