Tomato Price: Bad news is also hidden for your EMI in expensive tomatoes – no respite from emi soon rbi’s rate cut chances likely delayed as veggie prices burn a hole in pockets
According to reports, the price of tomato in the country has crossed Rs 150 in many cities, which was Rs 15 per kg in the first week of May. Wholesalers say that the price of vegetables has doubled in a week and their sales have dropped by 40%. The cost of food items has increased a lot in the recent times. The price of cumin was Rs 400 a kg in April, which has now reached Rs 750. Similarly, the price of magaj (melon seeds) has gone up from Rs 300 to Rs 750. Crisil’s Chief Economist Dharmakirti Joshi said that the increase in the price of rice and pulses is a matter of concern. Monsoon can change this situation.
Budget can go awry
He said that usually the RBI ignores the increase in the price of food items due to such seasonal reasons. But the continued rise in prices is a matter of concern as food is a significant part of the consumer inflation basket. RBI has got a target of keeping inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent. But the increase in food items can make matters worse. Retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index stood at 4.25 per cent in May.
The RBI did not change the repo rate in April and kept it unchanged in June as well. Meanwhile, there were reports that RBI may cut the policy repo rate soon. S&P Global Ratings recently said in a report that the RBI may start cutting policy rates early next year. HDFC Bank’s Principal Economist Sakshi Gupta said that RBI can keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent. If the price of food items does not come down even in the second half of the financial year 2024, then RBI can postpone the repo rate cut further.
