Retail inflation inches up to 6.93% in July

It is for the second consecutive month that the retail inflation has been above the RBI's comfort level.

Retail inflation rose to 6.93 per cent in July, mainly on account of higher prices of food items, government data showed on Thursday.

The food inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, increased to 9.62 per cent in July.

The retail inflation in June was 6.23 per cent, while the food inflation stood at 8.72 per cent.

It is for the second consecutive month that the retail inflation has been above the RBI's comfort level.

The government has mandated the central bank to restrict the inflation at 4 per cent (+, - 2 per cent).

The central bank mainly factors in retail inflation while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy.

Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters