Ghar Kharcha: Inflation Falls To Five-Year Low But Household Budgets Still Feel The Pinch

Retail inflation in July fell to a five-year low, i.e. since August 2019. However, your household budgets are unlikely to have seen any relief. This is because retail inflation fell to 3.54% in July this year, compared to 5.08% in June, because of base effect. In other words, the fall is because the reading in the same period last year was 7.44%.

On a sequential basis, the price momentum continued to trend upward, rising by 1.4%. Food and beverage inflation too saw a fall to 5.06% in July, compared to 8.36% in June. However, it rose 2.5% from June on a sequential basis, while vegetable prices rose by 14.1%.

Prices for key vegetables—potatoes, onions, and tomatoes—continued to rise in a sequential manner. In contrast, tomatoes, which had breached the Rs 100 per kg mark a year ago, saw lower prices on an annual basis.

When it came to utilities, electricity inflation eased up, while gold and silver prices jumped significantly, rising by over 20% from a year ago.

Another deterant to an indivisual's monthly budget was mobile tariff hikes with charges rising by 8.9% in July.