Inflation rate reached a 14-month high

Business Business: There is a shocking news on the inflation front. Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index rose to 6.21 percent in October, up from 5.49 percent in September last month. Official data on Tuesday showed that retail inflation has reached its highest level in 14 months due to rising food prices. This means that the retail inflation rate is above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) satisfactory level of six percent. In the same month last year, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 4.87 percent.

Data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) shows that food inflation rose to 10.87 percent in October, up from 9.24 percent in September and 6.61 percent in October last year. Last month, the RBI kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.5 percent. The government has made the central bank responsible for keeping inflation at four percent (two percent more or less).