India retail inflation rises to 4.45% in July

India's retail inflation rose to 4.45 percent in July, driven by a jump in food and energy prices, marking the second consecutive month that the rate has stayed above the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target. Official data released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased from 4.38 percent in June, though the figure came in slightly below some forecasts.

Food inflation was the primary driver, climbing to 5.52 percent in July from 5.32 percent in June. This represents the highest level for food prices in more than a year. The increase was more pronounced in rural areas, where food inflation stood at 5.79 percent, compared to 5.05 percent in urban India. Economists noted that the rise was fueled by higher prices for cereals, meat, fish, dairy, eggs, and sugar. Onion inflation saw a particularly sharp jump, rising to 22.54 percent year-on-year in July from 4.73 percent in June, with prices surging 26 percent on a month-on-month basis.

The overall inflation reading also marked the highest since India adopted its revised CPI series with a new base year of 2024 in February. While core retail...