Most states and Union Territories witnessed a decline in retail price inflation rates in May compared to April. This was in line with the overall rate of price rise, which fell to a 25-month low of 4.25 per cent. However, the inflation rate rose to at least six per cent in Bihar and Haryana in May. And though it fell in Tripura, it continued to remain above six per cent in the state.
In Bihar, the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rate touched a three-month high, increasing to 6 per cent in May from 5.33 per cent in April. In Haryana, it moved from 5.74 per cent to 6.04 per cent, a two-month high.
The inflation rate rose in both rural and urban areas in Bihar. In rural areas, it rose to 6.10 per cent from 5.30 per cent, while urban parts of the state witnessed an increase to 5.64 per cent from 5.38 per cent.
In Haryana, meanwhile, only the rural areas saw a higher inflation rate in May compared to April. It was up from 6.38 per cent to 7.12 per cent. The rate slipped in urban Haryana.
It was for the 19th month in a row when the inflation rate remained over 6 per cent in rural parts of Haryana. This was despite the fact that the base effect in these areas was high at 7.66 per cent in May, 2022. In the past 19 months, the rate had peaked at 10.25 per cent in April, 2022 in these parts of the state.
Meanwhile, the inflation rate cooled down to 4.69 per cent in May from 4.90 per cent in April in urban parts of Haryana.
In Tripura, the rate of price rise fell to 6.52 per cent in May from 8 per cent in April. The rate of inflation has remained over 6 per cent for a year now in the state. While it declined to 6.22 per cent in May from 7.63 per cent in April in Tripura’s rural areas, in urban parts it fell to 7.46 per cent from 9.03 per cent.
Uttarakhand saw a decline in inflation rate, both in rural and urban areas, but it remained over 6 per cent in the latter. While the overall inflation rate slipped to 5.75 per cent in May from 5.98 per cent in April, in rural areas it fell to 5.12 per cent from 5.39 per cent. In the urban areas of Uttarakhand, it slipped to 6.84 per cent from 7.05 per cent.
The inflation rate also rose in the Union Territory of Chandigarh in May, but it remained low at 3.62 per cent against 3.25 per cent in the previous month. The scenario was similar for Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.
In Chhattisgarh, the rate rose to 0.71 per cent from 0.54 per cent, while in Himachal Pradesh it rose to 4.35 per cent from 3.87 per cent.
States which saw rise in inflation rate to at least six per cent in May
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Bihar
Haryana
April, 22
7.56
8.95
May
5.97
7.25
June
4.68
8.14
July
5.21
7.83
August
6.31
7.71
September
6.38
7.95
October
5.84
7.79
November
4.08
6.81
December
4.91
6.67
January, 23
6.57
7.05
February
6.32
6.97
March
5.03
6.98
April
5.33
5.74
May
6
6.04
Source: MoSPI
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