Overview

• Wholesale price inflation fell to a 20-month low of between 0.13% and –0.1% in June as food articles, mineral oils, metals and crude petroleum prices declined.
• Retail inflation eased to 2.1% in June, its weakest since January 2019, driven by broad-based deflation in vegetables, pulses and other food items.
• Core inflation excluding food and fuel remained near 4.4% in June, sustained by price pressures in non-food categories such as personal care and precious metals.
• The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee cut the policy repo rate by 50 basis points, shifted its stance to neutral and trimmed its FY26 inflation forecast to around 4%.
• Economists expect further rate cuts as favourable base effects, a healthy monsoon and benign global commodity prices support ongoing disinflation trends.