Covid-19 impact: Inflation may remain high for a few months, say economists

Local lockdowns, taxes on fuels, services, hardening commodity prices may drive up inflation: Economists

The consumer price inflation (CPI) rate may remain elevated for at least a couple of months more owing to supply-side distortions created by regional lockdowns, taxes on fuels imposed by the Centre and states, commodity prices firming up, and services becoming costlier.

“I am not expecting prices to come down materially for the next couple of months,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic policy advisor, State Bank of India (SBI). He said the food basket was moving the consumer price index (CPI) more than services, which were not being consumed that much by the people.

Food has more than a 46