New Delhi, Sep 12 (EFE).- India’s consumer price index (CPI) dropped by over half a percentage in August to 6,83 percent, despite remaining above the tolerance band, the statistics ministry said on Tuesday.
The index dropped sharply compared to the figure of 7.44 percent registered in July, and was lower than the 7 percent inflation recorded in August 2022.
The drop was driven by a slight fall in food prices, after the Indian government imposed bans and duties on the export of some products.
Food inflation stood at 9.94 percent in August, compared to 11.51 percent in July.
The high food inflation had especially affected vegetables over the past few months, with some products, such as tomatoes, witnessing an over 300 percent spike in their retail prices.
The Reserve Bank of India has said that cereals were the main cause behind high inflation.
Aiming to curb the price-rise, New Delhi in August imposed restrictions on exporting rice, enforcing limits on the export of the premium basmati rice, while the shipping of other varieties were completely banned.
Last month, the authorities also imposed a 40 percent duty on the export of onions in order to reduce the sales price in the domestic market. EFE
daa/ia
