CPI Inflation Rose Four-Month high of 5.52 percent. in March

Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 5.52% in March, up from 5.03% in February. In March, combined food price inflation increased to 4.94%, up from 3.87% in February. The CPI data has come within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upper margin of 6% for the fourth consecutive month.

The Consumer Price Index, or CPI, is a measure of retail inflation in the economy that collects price changes for the most popular goods and services used by consumers.

The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), which measures inflation in the food basket, increased to 4.94% in March from 3.87% in February, according to the report. In January, inflation dropped to 4.06%, the lowest level since October 2019.

Retail inflation in March remained within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium-term inflation target of 4(+/-2%) for the fourth month in a row, according to official data released on April 12.

At its monetary policy meeting on April 7, the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee (MPC) held the policy repurchase (repo) rate at 4%. The government asked the RBI at the end of last month to keep retail inflation at 4% for another five years, ending in March 2026, with a 2% margin on either side.