Select food items, fuel and clothing grew more expensive in July, leading to a 1.47 per cent rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) vis-a-vis the month of June to 110.4 points.
The CPI, based on retail prices, stood at 108.8 points in June, according to data released by the government today. At the all-India level, the CPI for ‘food, beverages and tobacco’ went up by 1.57 per cent to 110.3 points in July from 108.6 points in the previous month.
The index for vegetables rose by 8.62 per cent month-on- month to 108.4 points, while the index for milk and milk products was up by 1.15 per cent to 114.6 points in July vis-a-vis June. Similarly, the index for eggs, meat and fish rose by 1.07 per cent to 113.5 points and in the case of oils and fats, it went up by 1.20 per cent to 118 points.
The index for pan, tobacco and intoxicants went by 1.37 per cent in July vis-a-vis June to 118.4 points, while the CPI for prepared meals went up 1.09 per cent to 111.6 points. However, fruit prices fell by 0.62 per cent in the index during the month under review to 128.1 points.
The ‘fuel and light’ segment was up by 3.86 per cent in the index, at 115.6 points in July, as against 111.3 points in June. The Government had hiked prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene in late May and the price rise seems to have spilled over into the latest Consumer Price Index for July.
In July, the CPI for ‘clothing, bedding and footwear’ stood at 116.4 points on an all-India basis, as against 115.1 in June, an increase of 1.13 per cent.
The index for ‘Housing’ was up 0.66 per cent month-on- month at 106.9 points in July, up from 106.2 points in June.
This is the second month that housing prices have been factored in the CPI. However, the data was compiled only for urban areas.
The Government had earlier said that “house rent is negligible for the rural areas” and as such, only the urban areas have been taken into account for the index on housing. The CPI for miscellaneous items was pegged at 109 points on a countrywide basis in July, up 0.83 per cent from 108.1 points in the previous month.
The combined general index for rural and urban consumers stood at 111.6 and 108.9 points, respectively, in July. In June, it was 109.9 and 107.3 points, respectively, for rural and urban consumers.
Meanwhile, the overall May numbers have been maintained at the provisional estimate of 107.1 points.