The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation rate in India for January was 4.31%, a sharp decline from 5.22% in December, according to figures issued on Monday by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. After August 2024, this is the lowest year-over-year inflation rate, down 91 basis points from December 2024. In October, CPI inflation hit a 14-month high of 6.21%.
Based on the All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), the YoY inflation rate for January 2025 compared to January 2024 is 6.02 percent (Provisional). According to the NSO data, the corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban areas were 6.31 and 5.53 percent, respectively. The food inflation rate dropped by 237 basis points in January compared to December 2024.
In the rural sector, headline and food inflation significantly decreased in January 2025, falling to 4.64% (provisional) from 5.76% in December 2024. In January 2025, the provisional rate of urban inflation was 3.87%, up from 4.58% in December 2024.
Pulse inflation was 2.59% in January compared to 3.83 percent in December, and vegetable inflation decreased to 11.35% in January from 26.56 percent in December. The inflation rate for milk and goods was 2.85 percent, while the inflation rate for cereals and products was 6.24 percent. The inflation rate for fuel and light was -1.38 percent.
Inflation for housing stayed steady at 2.76 percent from 2.71 percent in December, according to NSO data, while inflation for apparel and footwear was 2.68 percent, a little less than 2.74 percent in December 2024.
He went on to say that expected rabi seeding and additional declines in vegetable prices on February 25 should assist in controlling headline inflation over the next two months.
