India's retail inflation for January, which is scheduled to be announced later in the day, might have accelerated to 6 per cent, the upper tolerance limit of the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.
"Today's inflation print is expected to be close to 6 per cent that should not surprise," Das said at a media briefing after the RBI Board meet.
Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 5.59 per cent in December 2021. It was recorded 4.59 per cent in November 2021.
Noting that retail inflation likely to touch the upper end of the RBI's target band of 6 per cent, Das said it should not create any panic.
"If you look at the momentum of inflation right from last October onward, it is on a downward slope. It's primarily the statistical reasons, the base effect, which has resulted in higher inflation especially in Q3," the RBI Governor said.
"The same base effect will play in different ways in the coming months. Today's inflation print is expected to be close to 6 per cent. That should not surprise or create any alarm because we have taken that into consideration," he added.
The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, is scheduled to announce the monthly CPI inflation data later in the day today.
According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Monday, India's wholesale inflation eased to 12.96 per cent in January from 13.56 per cent in the previous month.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation has declined consistently in the recent months. It fell from 14.87 per cent in November 2021 to 13.56 per cent in December 2021 and further to 12.96 per cent in January 2022.
( With inputs from ANI )
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