India’s November retail inflation eases to 5.88% y/y By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People shop for an air conditioner inside an electronics store in Mumbai, India, May 19, 2022. Picture taken May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s annual retail inflation eased to 5.88% in November from 6.77% in the previous month, helped by a slower rise in food prices, government data showed on Monday.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted annual inflation of 6.40% in November.

Food prices, which account for nearly 40% of the CPI basket, eased to 4.67% in October, compared with 7.01% in October.

October was the first time the inflation print has fallen within the Reserve Bank of India’s 6% tolerance band since January. The bank has increased the main policy rate by 225 basis points, taking it to 6.25%.

Last week RBI raised interest rates by a smaller 35 basis points following three successive 50-basis-point rises.