The RBI revised up its inflation forecast to 4.7% for the second half of the fiscal year.New Delhi: Retail inflation rate accelerated to a four-month high of 4.87 per cent in May, government data showed on Tuesday, driven by higher fuel prices and a depreciating rupee.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast May's annual increase in the consumer price index at 4.83 per cent, compared with April's provisional 4.58 per cent.
The forecasts for May ranged from 4.1 per cent to 5.7 per cent.May was the seventh straight month in which inflation was higher than the central bank's medium-term target of 4 per cent.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2014, by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent, citing inflation concerns.The RBI revised up its inflation forecast to 4.7 per cent for the second half of the fiscal year ending in March 2019, from the 4.4 per cent it projected earlier.
Thomson Reuters 2018