The Reserve Bank of India today warned that seasonal spurt in vegetable prices in March could partly reverse the benefits of low global oil prices reducing inflation and increasing disposable incomes. In it's sixth monetary policy document, the apex bank said that the sharp reduction in oil prices as well as in inflation is likely to increase personal disposable incomes and improve domestic demand conditions in the year ahead.Inflation, excluding food and fuel, declined for the second consecutive month in December. This was largely on account of the declining prices of transport and communication since August, reflecting the impact of plummeting global crude oil prices, and softer commodity prices more generally. However, RBI said that the seasonal increases in vegetable prices, which typically set in around March, have to be monitored carefully.The Central Bank said that the upside risks to inflation stem from the unlikely possibility of significant fiscal slippage, uncertainty on the spatial and temporal distribution of the monsoon as also the low probability but highly influential risks of reversal of crude prices due to geo-political events.
News On AIR | February 3, 2015 5:00 PM
Spurt in vegetable prices next month may be spoiler for inflation, warns RBI