Big relief to common people, wholesale inflation in minus for the fourth consecutive month

The wholesale inflation rate has been seen in minus for the fourth consecutive month. By the way, even after a jump of about 3 percent as compared to June, the inflation rate is still 1.36 percent below zero. By the way, the retail inflation rate can be 6.5 percent.

While on one hand the prices of vegetables, cereals and pulses have seen a rise, on the other hand there has been a fall in the prices of fuel, due to which the wholesale inflation remained below zero for the fourth consecutive month in the country. According to the data, the wholesale inflation in the month of July stood at 1.36 percent. Wholesale inflation has been continuously seen in minus below zero since the month of April. The wholesale inflation rate in the month of June was -4.12 percent. While last year in July 2022, the wholesale inflation rate was seen more than 14 percent.

According to government data, food inflation saw the highest increase in the month of July. It stood at 14.25 per cent this month, which was seen at 1.32 per cent in June. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Monday that the decline in the rate of inflation in July 2023 was mainly due to the fall in the prices of mineral oil, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, textiles and food products.

Inflation rate of fuel and electricity in minus

Inflation in the fuel and power segment stood at -12.79 per cent in July, compared to -12.63 per cent in June. Inflation in manufactured products stood at -2.51 per cent in July. In June it was -2.71 percent. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the policy rate at 6.5 per cent last week for the third time in a row with the aim of keeping rising retail inflation under control and boosting the economy. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said that the work regarding inflation is not over yet. Inflation risks remain due to volatility in the prices of food items, energy in the international market and persisting geo-political tensions and weather-related uncertainties.

Retail inflation may increase

The RBI has increased the inflation forecast for the current financial year 2023-24 from 5.1 per cent to 5.4 per cent, citing the pressure caused by food prices. Inflation is estimated to be 6.2 percent in the July-September quarter, which is higher than the earlier estimate of 5.2 percent. According to experts, due to the increase in the prices of vegetables, the retail inflation rate is expected to be more than 6.5 percent in the month of July. This means that the retail inflation rate can go above the tolerance level of RBI. Which will be the high level of about 8 months.