The fall in retail inflation in March to a 3-month low of 5.17 per cent provides leeway to the Reserve Bank (RBI) to resume its rate-cutting cycle, India Inc said.
The RBI has lowered interest rates by a total of 0.50 per cent since January 2015 outside the policy cycle this year.
However, in its latest policy review on April 7, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan kept repo rate unchanged, awaiting clarity on impact of unseasonal rains on food inflation even as he wanted banks to pass on benefits of the previous two rate cuts.
Easing of food prices, mainly milk and vegetables, pulled down the March retail inflation.
The retail inflation as measured by Consumer Price Index was 5.37 per cent in February, and 5.19 per cent in January. It was 8.25 per cent in March last year.
The easing prices of milk, vegetables and fruits brought down the overall food inflation to 6.14 per cent in March, from 6.79 per cent recorded in February.
Inflation declined for 'cereals and products', although it was up in the case of protein rich items like 'meat and fish', as per the government data released today.
The rate of price rise in the food and beverages segment as a whole was 6.2 per cent in March, lower than 6.76 per cent in the previous month.
The CPI-based retail inflation has been calculated with a new base year of 2012.
Inflation in the fuel and light segment was 5.07 per cent last month, up from 4.72 per cent in February.
In the housing segment, inflation was 4.77 per cent last month, as compared to 4.98 per cent.
For the rural segment, the overall retail inflation was 5.58 per cent in March and 4.75 per cent for urban centers.
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Crossed 8794, Next Resistance @ 8938. Lets see an alternative count on 5 mins chart also.
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As per levels given on chart.
