Most respondents expect rate cuts from Dec; change in stance unlikely
The continuous heavy rainfall in key tomato-producing states like Maharashtra and Karnataka has disrupted transportation, leading to a shortage in supply and subsequent price hikes
The July 5-9 Reuters poll of 54 economists forecast consumer price inflation rose to 4.80% last month on a year earlier, up from 4.75% in May. Food accounts for around half the overall CPI basket
The overall hike in vegetarian thali prices was attributed to a 30 per cent increase in prices of tomato, 59 per cent in potato and 46 per cent in onion
In a move to check wheat price rise and hoarding, the Centre on Monday imposed stock holding limits on traders, wholesalers, retailers and processors with immediate effect. The restrictions will remain in force until March 31, 2025, across all states and Union Territories. Under the new rules, retail outlets and individual stores of big chain retailers are allowed to stock up to 10 tonnes of wheat, an official statement said. Traders, wholesalers, and large depots of big chain retailers face a cap of 3,000 tonnes each. For processors, the limit is set at 70 per cent of their monthly installed capacity (MIC) multiplied by the remaining months of the 2024-25 fiscal. The government has mandated all entities to declare their stock position and regularly update it on the Department of Food and Public Distribution's portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/wsp/login). Those holding stocks exceeding the prescribed limits have been given a 30-day window to comply with the new norms. The decision
Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday that inflation has fallen further toward their target level in recent months but signalled that they expect to cut their benchmark interest rate just once this year. The policymakers' forecast for one rate cut was down from a previous forecast of three, likely because inflation, despite having cooled in the past two months, remains persistently elevated. In a statement issued after its two-day meeting, the Fed said the economy is growing at a solid pace, while hiring has remained strong. The officials also noted that in recent months there has been modest further progress toward its 2 per cent inflation target. That is a more positive assessment than after the Fed's previous meeting May 1, when the officials said there had been a lack of further progress" on inflation. The policymakers, as expected, kept their key rate unchanged at roughly 5.3 per cent. The benchmark rate has remained at that level since July of last year, after the Fed .
Ensuring food safety is a public health priority and an essential step towards achieving food security
A vegetarian thali has roti, onion, tomato, potato, rice, dal, curd, and salad. A non-vegetarian thali has the same foods but chicken (broiler) replaces dal
Non-veg thali becomes cheaper; pricier onion, tomato and potato push up price of veg thali
V Anantha Nageswaran, the government's chief economic adviser, said on Wednesday the Indian economy was better placed than before to pursue 'non-inflationary' growth
In the euro zone, data may show that the slowdown in inflation stalled in April for the first time this year
The problem of high food inflation will be "less severe" in India going ahead, as modern supply chains with diversified sources can help quickly address sudden spikes in prices of specific food items, RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal said on Thursday. Stressing that the share of food in the household budget is high in India, Goyal said policy needs to focus on increasing agricultural productivity, since stable agricultural prices are important for non-inflationary growth. "As India develops, this problem (high food inflation) will get less severe, for a number of reasons. Modern supply chains with diversified sources respond quickly to large spikes in specific items," she told PTI. Goyal further pointed out that one does not hear of tomato or onion prices spiking in advanced economies. "We naturally have diverse geographic regions, better integrated markets sourcing from different regions can help mitigate climate change induced food price spikes," she ...
Some had higher inflation every month of the year
WPI for potato witnessed a jump of 52.96 per cent against a deflation of 25.59 per cent, while for onion 56.99 per cent as compared to (-) 36.83 per cent in March 2023
Onion prices could lead to vegetarian thali prices increasing later, says CRISIL
The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased in January to 0.2 per cent from 0.27 per cent in the preceding month. The WPI inflation was in the negative zone from April to October and had turned positive in November at 0.26 per cent. "The annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number is 0.20 per cent (provisional) for the month of February, 2024 (over February, 2023)," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Food inflation moved up marginally to 6.95 per cent in February from 6.85 per cent in January, data showed. Inflation in vegetables was 19.78 per cent, up from 19.71 in January. The WPI inflation in pulses was at 18.48 per cent in February compared to 16.06 in January.
This is the third consecutive month that the wholesale inflation rate had remained in the positive territory after it had recorded deflation for the major part of the financial year 2024
WPI inflation January: The highest fall in inflation was witnessed in manufactured products followed by fuel & power
Positive rate of inflation in December, 2023 was primarily due to an increase in prices of food articles, machinery & equipment, other manufacturing, other transport equipment
Food prices, which account for about half of the inflation basket, rose in November and remained elevated last month, largely led by vegetable prices and household staples