Retail inflation falls from 16-month high, down to 5.18% in February

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Showing some signs of relief, retail inflation felt for the first time in seven months to 5.18 percent in February.

Retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stood at 5.69 percent in January, 2016, hitting a 16th month high.

In December 2015, the CPI inflation had stood at 5.61 percent.

As per government data released on Monday, the index of 'Food Articles' group declined by 32. percent while that on 'Non-Food Articles' group declined by 2.9 percent.

Meanwhile, deflationary trend continued for the 16th month in a row as wholesale prices declined by 0.91 percent in February, prompting India Inc to press for a rate cut by RBI to boost factory output, which has been contracting since November.

Subdued prices of certain food items and petroleum products kept the WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation at (-)0.91 percent in February as against (-)2.17 percent a year ago. It was (-)0.9 percent in January.

This is the 16th consecutive month since November 2014 when the deflationary pressure has persisted.