(TH)
Indian consumers faced a further acceleration in steep food prices in April, even as the overall retail inflation rate remained virtually unchanged at 4.83% last month from 4.85% in March. Food inflation surged to a four-month high of 8.7% in April from 8.5% in March, with rural consumers witnessing a sharper uptick of 8.75%.
The gap between urban and rural consumers’ inflation experience remained sharp for the second successive month with rural households seeing a 5.43% rise in prices, while the overall inflation rate faced by urban consumers changed fractionally from 4.14% in March to 4.11% in April.
On a month-on-month basis, price levels rose about 0.5%, with urban consumers facing a sharper uptick in overall prices as well as food items. Food prices rose 1.03% from March levels in urban India, while the rise was more subdued for their rural counterparts at 0.59%. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.6% over March for urban households, while it was 0.37% higher for rural India.
