By Ed Frankl
India’s annual inflation fell in April for the third month in a row, reaching further into the central bank’s target range, as food inflation eased.
Consumer prices rose 4.70% in April compared with the same month a year earlier, an 18-month low, and down from a 5.66% on-year increase recorded in March, according to government preliminary data published Friday.
The reading was a touch above consensus forecast of 4.6% from economists polled by FactSet, and met the central bank’s target of 2% to 6%.
Food and beverages prices–which make up almost half of the consumer price index–increased 4.22% in April, easing from March’s 5.11% on-year rise.
Clothing-and-footwear inflation was 7.47% in April, while for fuel it was 5.52%, with both measures easing from March, according to the data.
The news further eases the pressure on India’s central bank, supporting its surprise decision in April to hold its benchmark interest rate at 6.50%.
Write to Ed Frankl at [email protected]
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