Impact of West Asia war: Inflation rises in India
New Delhi, Apr 13: Amidst the critical geo-political situation and disruption in global energy flows, retail inflation in India rose modestly to 3.4 per cent in March.
Headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation stood at 3.21 per cent in February.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, rural inflation was higher at 3.63 per cent, while urban inflation stood at 3.11 per cent.
Food prices, which carry the largest weight in the inflation basket, firmed up during the month, rising to 3.87 per cent in March from 3.47 per cent in February.
Rural food inflation was at 3.96 per cent and urban at 3.71 per cent.
Higher energy and fuel-related costs are also beginning to exert upward pressure, even as overall inflation remains manageable and macroeconomic stability appears intact.
At the same time, prices of onions fell 27.76 per cent, potatoes declined 18.98 per cent, and garlic prices, though still negative, saw a narrower contraction at minus 10.18 per cent.
Pulses such as arhar (tur) and peas also remained in negative territory, indicating easing pressure in select food categories.
Inflation trends across other categories
Housing inflation stood at 2.11 per cent in March, while clothing and footwear inflation was recorded at 2.75 per cent.
Services-linked segments showed mild upticks, with restaurant and accommodation services inflation at 2.88 per cent, and education services at 3.30 per cent.
Health inflation remained relatively subdued at 1.75 per cent, while transport inflation was largely flat.
Certain discretionary segments recorded sharper increases.
Inflation in personal care and miscellaneous goods and services remained elevated at over 18 per cent, indicating persistent price pressures in non-essential categories.
Precious Metals
Among individual items, precious metals continued to dominate the inflation chart.
Silver jewellery prices surged 148.61 per cent year-on-year in March, while gold, diamond and platinum jewellery prices rose 45.92 per cent.
Other items such as copra, tomatoes and cauliflower also recorded high inflation, though at a slower pace than the previous month.
States
At the state level, inflation trends remained uneven. Among larger states, Telangana recorded the highest combined inflation at 5.83 per cent, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Geo-Political situation:
The latest inflation print comes against a backdrop of West Asia war and continuing geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States, which have disrupted global flow of energy.
