Onion Price- Onions, which used to make people cry, are now shedding tears. The arrogance of inflation has now disappeared. Due to softening of prices of food items, vegetables and fuel, wholesale inflation has come down to a 13-month low of 0.85%. It was 2.05 percent in the month of March and 1.19 percent in April 2024.
According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday, the rate of inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index recorded in April is the lowest since March 2024. At that time it was at the level of 0.26 percent. The ministry said that the main reason for the decline in inflation was the softening of prices of food products, manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, manufacturing of other transport equipment and manufacturing of machinery and equipment etc.
According to the data, the prices of food items fell by 0.86 percent in April. Inflation in food products was 1.57 percent in March. The inflation rate of vegetables was 18.26 percent in April, while it was 15.88 percent in March. The wholesale prices of onion have declined the most. Onion inflation has come down to 0.20 percent, which was 26.65 percent in March.
Rahul Agarwal, senior economist at rating agency ICRA, said that the forecast of early monsoon in Kerala and above normal monsoon in the country is positive for crop production. As a result, the forecast of food inflation is also positive. Due to the fall in the prices of goods in the wholesale market, its effect is seen on the retail inflation. RBI mainly looks at the retail inflation while formulating the monetary policy.
Due to softening of prices of vegetables, fruits and pulses, the rate of retail inflation has come down to a six-year low of 3.16 percent in April. This has created enough scope for the Reserve Bank of India to cut the repo rate once again in the monetary policy review of June.