The retail inflation rate in December 2022 was 5.72%. The rate was 5.88% in November and 6.77% in October. Incidentally, the rate of retail inflation depends on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Incidentally, the central government has directed the Reserve Bank of India to keep retail inflation between a maximum of 4% and a minimum of 2%. And the RBI has to maintain this level till March 2026.
Retail inflation has moderated due to low food prices, especially food grains and vegetables. And it came within tolerable levels. Food inflation takes up a lot of space in overall inflation. Its rate is about 40% of overall inflation. The rate was 4.67% in November 2022, it fell to 4.19% in December.
However, according to a section of experts, retail inflation may increase marginally in January. Because, in the recent situation, there is a fear that the price of goods will increase again. Because, as the demand for goods will increase, so will the cost of producing them. This time the producers will collect that increased cost from the buyers. As a result, there is a risk of increase in the price of goods. According to an economic analyst, “CPI inflation rate may be 5.8-6.0% in January 2023. As there is no guarantee that food prices will remain stable or not increase.”
However, in this case, some experts see the light of hope. According to them, if the retail inflation rate is low, then the Reserve Bank of India (Reserve Bank of India) has been aggressively raising interest rates to some extent. As a result, the Reserve Bank may increase it by 25 basis points instead of 50 basis points.