Price rise News

Attributing rise in prices of certain food items to seasonal factors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Monday said inflation overall is moderating and the price situation is under control.

The government on Thursday said the price rise is limited to a few commodities like pulses and not all, and there is "wrong perception" that there is inflation in every food item.

As the government prepares to import pulses to control rising prices, industry body Assocham today said that the country may have to import 6-7 million tonnes of pulses during this fiscal at exorbitant rates which may further push up the prices in retail markets.

With pulses prices rising by up to 64 percent in the last one year, the government plans to increase supplies to rein in prices as it looks at steps to keep inflation down amid forecast of deficit monsoon.

The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at -2.65% for the month of April as compared to -2.33% for the previous month.

India will be able to manage potential inflationary pressures if forecasts of sub-par monsoon rains this summer are borne out, junior finance minister Jayant Sinha told Reuters in an interview.

The fall in retail inflation in March to a 3-month low of 5.17 percent provides leeway to the Reserve Bank (RBI) to resume its rate-cutting cycle, India Inc said on Monday.

Easing of food prices, mainly milk and vegetables, pulled down the March retail inflation to 3-month low of 5.17 percent.

India`s annual consumer price inflation unexpectedly slowed down to a three-month low of 5.17 percent in March as food prices moderated, government data showed on Monday.

Retail prices of leafy vegetables like spinach and other winter staples such as carrots, cauliflower and peas have shot up as much as 67 percent in the national capital over the last five days due to unseasonal rains.

Retail inflation moved up to 5.11 percent in January month-on-month, measured on a new base year 2012, mainly due to dearer food items including fruits and vegetables.

For the first time ever, the government will import potatoes to boost domestic availability and check prices of the key kitchen item.

The government will import potatoes for the first time to check price rise and improve domestic supplies, Agriculture Secretary said on Thursday.

Inflation in India is not a "structural" issue and is likely to moderate to 6 percent by January 2016 provided there is continued appropriate policy measures and absence of global macro shocks, says an UBS research report.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday said controlling food inflation, which has been consistently hovering around the double-digit mark, is a "top priority" for the government.

Analysts feel that the situation will improve more in the coming weeks if belts like Ahmednagar, Saswar, Mahabaleshwar and Belgaum witness good rainfall.

Tomato prices continue to remain high at Rs 80 per kg in retail markets of national capital region on short supplies.

The wheat sale programme aims to boost domestic supply and check price rise.

The Wholesale Price Index based inflation declined in June after touching 5-month high of 6.01 percent in May. It was 5.16 percent in June 2013.

Under attack over food inflation, the government on Wednesday asserted that it will control price rise despite below normal monsoon and there is no need for panic.