India's March retail inflation drops to 4.85%, lowest in 10 months

In February, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate was recorded at 5.09 percent.

This recent figure of 4.85 percent marks the lowest headline retail inflation rate since May 2023, when it was reported at 4.31 percent.

A Reuters survey of Economists had expected a slightly higher figure of 4.91 percent for March, making the actual outcome lower than expectations.

This update on inflation follows closely after the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on April 5 to maintain the policy repo rate at 6.5 percent for the seventh consecutive time.

As per the central bank's latest projection, CPI inflation is expected to hover around 4.5 percent for the current fiscal year.

While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has persisted within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) acceptable range of 2 percent to 6 percent for the seventh consecutive month, it has remained above the medium-term target of 4 percent for 54 consecutive months.

In March, the internal components of CPI showed slight changes.

Food inflation saw a marginal decrease, with the index registering 8.52 percent, down from 8.66 percent in the previous month.

However, prices of cereals rose to 8.37 percent from 7.60 percent, and meat and fish prices increased to 6.36 percent compared to 5.21 percent in February.

Conversely, there was a slight decline in the prices of vegetables and pulses.