economy
India's inflation in April rises for sixth straight month, but undershoots estimates
Disruptions from the Middle East conflict pose a risk to India's economic growth and inflation.
TL;DR
- India's consumer price inflation for April was 3.48%, up from 3.40% in March.
- This marks the sixth consecutive month of rising inflation, but the figure was below economists' expectations of 3.80%.
- Food inflation increased to 4.2% in April from 3.87% in March.
- Former RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao warned that persistent inflation could evolve into a demand shock, concerning the RBI.
- India imports nearly 85% of its fuel needs and is vulnerable to supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict.
- The Reserve Bank of India has lowered GDP growth forecasts for the current and next quarters.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to curb fuel use, reduce overseas travel, and pause gold purchases to conserve foreign exchange reserves.
- The Indian rupee remains under pressure due to expectations of widening trade and current account deficits from higher energy costs.
- Crisil estimates India's inflation to average around 5.1% in the financial year ending March 2027.