CRISIL sees gradual inflation pickup as food base effect fades

Key Highlights

• Food inflation rose to –2.7 per cent in December from –3.9 per cent in November, with prices of meat, fish and eggs firming up, while deflation in vegetables, pulses and spices narrowed.” She noted that the protein basket — comprising pulses, eggs, meat and fish — which had seen inflation fall to –5.1 per cent in July, rose to –2.2 per cent in December.
• Cereals inflation slipped into negative territory for the first time since September 2021, driven by falling wheat and rice prices.
• Inflation in edible oils eased sharply to 6.8 per cent from a peak of 21.2 per cent in August, while vegetable deflation narrowed to –18.5 per cent from –27.6 per cent in October.
• CRISIL flagged a sharp rise in non-food inflation, led by precious metals.
• Inflation in gold, silver and ornaments surged to 70.4 per cent in December, with gold inflation at 68.7 per cent and silver inflation at 97.1 per cent, contributing to the rise in core inflation.