JOIN USAfter abating for three months, retail inflation moved up in June and reached close to double digit as food and vegetable prices rose steeply and a pass-through of rupee depreciation on inflation cannot be ruled out.
Retail inflation inched up to 9.87 per cent in June, from 9.31 per cent in the previous month, on costlier vegetables and food items. Food prices make up most of the consumer price index. In CPI, the food index has a 47 per cent weight.
The steepest rise was witnessed in vegetables prices which jumped 14.55 per cent in month over the year-ago period. Prices of fruits too witnessed a significant rise. Experts said, fruit and vegetables prices are generally up in the month of June due to rains.
Protein rich items like egg, fish and meat too were dearer in June though rates of pulses and related products eased somewhat. However, the rate of price rise in cereals and similar items basket was higher at 17.59 per cent as against 16.29 per cent in May.
The CPI inflation print comes two days ahead of the official release of the wholesale price index (WPI), which recorded a low of 4.7 per cent in May, but may move up in the coming months pressured by food prices, analysts said.