Retail inflation is likely to have increased from the October level of 0.3 per cent to between 0.5 and 1 per cent, or even higher, in November. The Government will release data on Friday.

One key reason for the rise in retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is the base effect as it wanes. Also, gold and silver prices are rising, which could affect the headline number. According to Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA, the all-time low inflation of 0.3 per cent in October stemmed from the food and beverage segment (F&B: to -3.7 per cent from -1.4 per cent). However, core-CPI inflation remained stable at 4.5 per cent, as the hardening in gold and silver prices offset the softening across several items after the GST rate cut. “ICRA expects the CPI inflation to

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