The statistics ministry last week said Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was 6.71 percent in July. While this was 30 basis points lower than the June number, it was the seventh consecutive month in which retail inflation had come in above the upper bound of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance range of 2-6 percent. With CPI inflation having averaged 6.3 percent in January-March and 7.3 percent in April-June, CPI data for September – likely to be released on October 12 – may show 6 percent-plus inflation for a third straight quarter. This would mean that RBI has failed to meet its inflation mandate, and that it has to write to the Finance Ministry citing a reason.