Perspective on CPI data for the month of January 22 By Mr. Nikhil Gupta, Motilal Oswal
Below is perspective on CPI data for the month of January 22 By Mr. Nikhil Gupta, Chief Economist at Motilal Oswal Financial Services
As expected, Jan'22 headline CPI inflation at 6% YoY
It has likely peaked out and expected to soften to 5.7% in Feb'22
* In line with our and market expectation, headline CPI inflation came in at 6% YoY in Jan'22, partly due to the base effect (4.1% in Jan'21). Food inflation was at 14-month high of 5.4% and the core inflation was stable at 6.2% in the month.
* Earlier today, Jan'22 WPI came in at 13% YoY, also in line with the consensus (12.8%).
* While the inflation has risen, as expected, Dec'21 IIP came in lower than expected on Friday. We have been arguing that growth is a bigger concern than inflation in India.
* We expect 3QFY22 real GDP growth to disappoint. The market consensus is at 6% (revised down from 6.3% two months ago) and our estimates suggest the growth could be 5-5.5% only (scheduled on 28th Feb).
* Going forward, we believe that CPI- inflation has peaked and likely to soften to 5.6-5.7% in Feb-Mar'22.
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