Retail inflation eases to 3.61% in February

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| Photo Credit: Reuters

Retail inflation slipped to 3.61% in February mainly due to the decline in the rate of price rise in vegetables and protein-rich items, creating space for the Reserve Bank of India for second reduction in interest rate next month.

The consumer price index-based retail inflation was at 4.26% in January and 5.09% in February 2024.

The year-on-year inflation rate for February 2025 was 3.75%, showed the data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

“A sharp decline of 222 basis points is observed in food inflation in February 2025 in comparison to January 2025. The food inflation in February 2025 is the lowest after May 2023,” it said.

The NSO said the significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation during February is mainly attributed to the decline in inflation of vegetables, egg, meat, and fish, pulses and products; and milk and products.

The RBI, which has been mandated to ensure retail inflation remains at 4% (+/- 2%), reduced the short-term lending rate (repo) by 25 basis points last month on easing concerns on the inflation front.

The central bank is scheduled to announce the next set of bi-monthly monetary policy on April 9.