Retail inflation rises to 7.41% in September on costlier food items

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Retail inflation spiked to 7.41 per cent in September, mainly due to costlier food items. For the ninth month in a row, retail inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India's tolerance level of 6 per cent.

Official data released on Wednesday showed that the retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was at 7.41 per cent in September. It was at 7 per cent in August and 4.35 per cent in September 2021.

Inflation in food basket rose to 8.60 per cent in September this year from 7.62 per cent in August. With inflation remaining above the 6 per cent level, RBI, now, will have to give a report to the central government giving reasons for failure to contain inflation at 4 per cent with a bias of 2 per cent on either side.

The central government has mandated RBI to ensure that retail inflation remains in the range of 2-6 per cent. In September, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said acute imported inflation pressures felt at the beginning of this fiscal year have eased but it still remains elevated across food and energy items.