Perspective on CPI Data by Mr. Nikhil Gupta, Motilal Oswal Financial Group
Below the perspective on CPI Data by Mr. Nikhil Gupta, Chief Economist, Motilal Oswal Financial Group.
Oct'23 headline inflation eased to 4.9% YoY
Core inflation at 43-month low of 4.3%
* Headline CPI-inflation eased to 4.9% YoY last month broadly in line with the market forecast of 4.8% and our expectation of 4.9%
* Food inflation was unchanged at 6.6% YoY in Oct'23, implying the core inflation softened to 43-month of 4.3%.
* Details suggest that the declaration was broad based:
-- Standard core inflation (ex food & energy) was down to 40-month low of 4.4%
-- CPI inflation ex veggies was down to 5%, the lowest in 46 months
-- Inflation in core services (weight = 13%) was 3.4%, the lowest since the data is available from 2015
-- Only 34.5% of CPI basket posted 6%+ inflation, the lowest since early 2021.
Going forward, we believe that headline inflation has troughed. We expect it to rise to 5.5-6% in Nov-Dec'23 and stabilise at ~5.2% in 4QFY24. Thus, we don't see any relaxation in the monetary policy by the RBI next month or the next few months.
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