Economics
India Consumer Prices Rise 3.36%, More Than Forecast
- CPI rose to 3.36 percent, faster than 3.24 percent estimate
- July factory output grew 1.2 percent after last month’s fall
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India’s August inflation rate accelerated to the fastest since March, exceeding expectations ahead of the central bank’s policy review in October.
The second consecutive month of price surge is closer to the upper limit of the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation expectation at between 2 to 3.5 percent till September this year. Food prices may surge in the coming months after floods devastated farms in central and eastern India. Rising inflation could add to the pressure on central bank Governor Urjit Patel ahead of a policy review next month. It comes as India struggles with slack at factories and slow private investments worsened supply chain disruptions after a cash ban last November and chaos from a nationwide goods and service tax.