Retail inflation eases to four-month low of 5.22% in December 2024

India's retail inflation drops to 5.22% in December 2024, with food inflation at 8.4%; top items with highest inflation listed.

India’s retail inflation eased a bit to a four-month low of 5.22% in December 2024 from 5.5% in November 2024, with food inflation cooling marginally from 9.04% in November to 8.4% last month, the National Statistics Office said on Monday (January 13, 2025).

The top five items showing highest year-on-year Inflation at All India level in December 2024 are Peas (89.12%), Potato (68.23%), Garlic (58.17%), coconut oil (45.41%) and Cauliflower (39.42%), the NSO pointed out.

Overall consumer prices were 4.6% higher in December for urban residents compared to 4.9% in November, while rural consumers faced a steeper price rise of 5.8%, just marginally below the 5.95% recorded in the previous month.

On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was down 0.56% in December while the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) was 1.5% below November’s number. Urban consumers saw a much more marked decline here as well, with a 0.62% dip in their CPI and a 1.73% fall in the CFPI. By contrast, the rural CPI was down 0.5% and food prices dipped 1.3% sequentially.

While food inflation had also cooled to a four-month low, marking the second month of deceleration from October’s 15-month high of 10.9%, some critical food items reported faster upticks in prices. This included edible oils and fats, whose prices rose 14.6%, up from November’s 30-month peak inflation of 13.3%.

Vegetables inflation moderated at a slow pace from 29.3% in November to 26.6%, while Fruit prices accelerated again by 8.5% after easing to a 7.7% pace in November. Cereals inflation stood at 6.5% in December, from 6.9% in the previous month.

Pulses prices rose 3.8%, relative to 5.4% in November, marking the slowest inflation in over two years. However, other protein sources such as eggs (6.85%) and meat and fish (5.3%) reported higher inflation in December, while milk price rise was virtually unchanged at 2.8%.