Retail inflation hits a low of 2.99% in April

New Delhi: Retail inflation fell sharply to 2.99 percent in April, from 3.89 percent in March, due to lower cost of food items, including pulses and vegetables that showed a deflationary trend.

The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation for March 2017 was revised slightly upwards to 3.89 percent, from 3.81 percent recorded previously.

CPI inflation stood at 5.47 percent in April 2016.

Pulses and products recorded a sharp fall in prices in April, with a deflation of 15.94 percent, while vegetable prices fell by 8.59 percent. The corresponding figures for March read (-)12.42 percent and (-)7.24 percent.

In the fuel and light category, the inflation reading in April stood at 6.13 percent, higher than 5.56 percent in March.

Price of fruits grew at 3.78 percent in April, slower than 9.35 percent in March, showed data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), which were released on Friday.

For cereals and products, the rate of price rise in April, at 5.06 percent, was lower than 5.38 percent in the previous month. For meat and fish, the inflation print came in at 1.90 percent during the reported month, from 2.96 percent in March.

Overall food inflation, or the rate of price increase, for April was at 0.61 percent as against 1.93 percent previously.