India’s retail inflation eases to 4.31% in January

Retail inflation in India slowed to 4.31% in January 2025 mainly due to lower food prices, data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation showed on Wednesday (February 12).

According to the CNBC-TV18 Poll of economists, the January 2025 CPI was pegged at 4.53%. The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation was 5.22% in December, and 5.1% in January 2024.

India’s food inflation slowed to 6.02% from 8.39% in December and coming in lower than the 6.7% estimate from the CNBC-TV18 poll. Rural inflation fell to 4.64% from 5.76% month-on-month, while urban inflation declined to 3.87% from 4.58%.

Vegetable inflation saw a sharp drop to 11.35% from 26.56% month-on-month, while pulse inflation moderated to 2.59% from 3.83%. Fuel and light inflation remained in negative territory at -1.38%, slightly up from -1.39% in December. Housing inflation edged up to 2.76% from 2.71%, while clothing and footwear inflation eased marginally to 2.68% from 2.74%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been tasked by the government to ensure retail inflation remains at 4% with a margin of 2% on either side. The CPI data is mainly factored in by the RBI while making its bi-monthly monetary policy.