Our Bureau
Mumbai
India’s annual consumer inflation is expected to have moved closer to the Reserve Bank of India’s 4% target in April, helped upward by higher fuel costs, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The survey, conducted from May 4 to May 8, covered 46 economists and showed inflation measured by the consumer price index likely rose to 3.80% from 3.40% in March.
Economists said the rise was linked to higher fuel and LPG prices after the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupted energy supplies. Indian companies raised LPG prices in March, and analysts said the effect likely continued into April. The expected April reading would still leave inflation below the central bank’s 4% medium-term goal, but it would mark a further increase from the previous month.
The poll also showed forecasts ranged from 2.80% to 4.20%, reflecting uncertainty about how strongly fuel costs passed through to consumer prices. Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, is expected to be 3.55% in April, Reuters reported. Wholesale price index-based inflation is also likely to have risen to 4.40% from 3.88% in March.
India’s official CPI data for April will give a clearer picture of whether higher energy costs have begun to affect everyday prices more broadly.
