Pricey haircuts to costly security messes India's retail inflation outlook

Clues for whether sticky price pressures could keep policy makers on pause for longer will be available when the minutes of the MPC's latest meeting are published Friday

Rising cost of services offered by hair stylists to security guards are a new challenge for India’s monetary policy makers, who stand ready to resume interest-rate cuts as soon as the food-price driven spike in inflation wears off.
 

Services inflation surged to 4.8% in September from a year ago, compared with 4.4% in February before the coronavirus outbreak, according to estimates by Citigroup Inc. The pickup reflects cost-push factors associated with the pandemic, such as social distancing and screening of customers, as well as fewer workers in urban centers after migrating back home during the nationwide lockdown.

“While the increase is