This significant decrease in inflation is a positive sign for the Reserve Bank of India, which recently reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%. In October, retail inflation in India had surged to a 14-month high of 6.2%, with food inflation reaching a 15-month peak of 10.9%.

A Reuters poll had earlier projected January inflation at 4.6 per cent, indicating a continued decline that brings inflation closer to the middle of the RBI's tolerance band of 2-6 per cent

India's retail inflation eased to 4.31% in January 2025, down from 5.22% in December, primarily due to slowing food price rises. This decline was better than the Reuters poll estimate of 4.6% and offers relief to households heavily impacted by food costs.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation slowed to a five-month low of 4.31 per cent in January from 5.22 per cent in December, aided by a slowdown in food prices, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said on Wednesday.

The inflation in the food basket was 6.02 per cent, lower than 8.39 per cent in December and 8.3 per cent in the year-ago month.

India's retail inflation eased to a five-month low of 4.31% in January from 5.22% in December as food price inflation declined, government data released on Wednesday showed. Annual retail inflation in January was lower than economists' estimate of 4.