Spike in inflation largely due to costlier food items, say experts

The spike in retail inflation in October this year has largely been due to costlier food items, said experts on Wednesday.

The spike in retail inflation in October this year has largely been due to costlier food items, said experts on Wednesday. "After remaining within the RBI's target of 4 per cent for 14 consecutive months (August 2018 to September 2019), Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in October 2019 increased to 4.62 per cent. The increase was mainly from consumer food price inflation, which increased to 7.89 in October 2019," said Dr Devendra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings and Research (Fitch Group).

The increase in October's CPI was led by seasonal items such as egg, fruit, vegetable, and pulses among others. Madhavi Arora, Economist, Fx & Rates, Edelweiss Securities, said inflation has been on account of an increase in the prices of vegetables.

"The inflation print has surprised on the upside on account of vegetable inflation in October. While food inflation has rocked the sub-4 per cent comfort for headline print, the YoY uptick in food prices comes after two consecutive years of slumping growth, specially built up in pulses and sugar, and the sequential increase remains comfortable on an average in FY20," said Arora in a statement. (ANI)

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