Retail inflation in India rose to 6.07 per cent in February, the highest level in eight months, due to a sharp increase in the prices in rural areas, the government data showed on Monday.
The retail inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has remained above the upper limit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tolerance band for the second consecutive month. The retail inflation stood at 6.01 per cent in January 2022.
According to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the price rise in rural India during the month under review was sharper than the urban areas.
Rural CPI inflation surged to 6.38 per cent in February 2022 from 6.12 per cent in the previous month. However, urban CPI inflation declined to 5.75 per cent in February from 5.91 per cent in the previous month.
In February 2021, CPI based retail inflation stood at 5.03 per cent.
A sharp jump in rural CPI inflation is partly due to the base effect. Rural CPI inflation stood at 4.19 per cent in February 2021. It surged to 6.38 per cent in February 2022.
In February 2021, urban CPI inflation was sharply higher at 5.96 per cent. In February 2022, it fell to 5.75 per cent.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation surged to 13.11 per cent in February from 12.96 per cent recorded in the previous month due to a sharp jump in the prices of crude petroleum and natural gas, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Monday.
The annual rate of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation stood at 4.83 per cent in February 2021.
"The high rate of inflation in February 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, crude petroleum & natural gas, food articles and non-food articles etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year," the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.
( With inputs from ANI )
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