Though retail inflation fell to a 25-month low of 4.25% in May, retail price inflation rates of rice, wheat and some pulses, such as tur, remained high.

New Delhi: Though retail inflation fell to a 25-month low of 4.25% in May, retail price inflation rates of rice, wheat and some pulses, such as tur, remained high. Despite this, food inflation was down to an 18-month low of 2.91% overall, Business Standard reported.

“In line with wheat inflation, the rates of price rise in other related products were also high despite a slight moderation in May. For instance, baked breads saw inflation moderating to 10.36 per cent in May, against 11.34 per cent in the previous month. Similarly, inflation in suji came down to 11.15 per cent from 12.82 per cent and in maida to 14.36 per cent from 17.02 per cent,” the newspaper report said.

According to The Telegraph, economists have warned that subpar monsoon could mean higher food inflation in the coming months. “The development of El Nino conditions would be closely monitored as these could lead to a subpar monsoon and impact kharif yields and rabi sowing, and thereby impact crop output and food inflation,” Aditi Nayar, chief economist at Icra, stated.

In April, inflation based on the consumer price index was at 4.7%.

On June 12, a day before the May inflation numbers were released, the government imposed stock limits on wheat for traders, wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers and processors, Business Standard reported. The new rules came into effect immediately and will be in place till March 31, 2024. This is the first time in 15 years that such a rule has been made, the newspaper stated.

The government also decided to offload 15 lakh tonnes of wheat to bulk consumers and traders from the central pool in the first phase under the Open Market Sale Scheme, The Telegraph reported.

Published Date: June 14, 2023