Retail inflation declines to five-year low of 3.54% in July: Govt data

New Delhi: Retail inflation declined to 3.54 per cent in July, slipping below the Reserve Bank's targeted 4 per cent for the first time in nearly 5 years, as food prices cooled, government data showed on Monday.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation was 5.08 per cent in June 2024 and 7.44 per cent in July 2023.

Inflation in the food basket was 5.42 per cent in July, down from 9.36 per cent in June, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

The last time inflation was below 4 per cent was in September 2019.

The government has tasked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure that the CPI inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.