Uneven rainfall may flare up food inflation: Experts

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New Delhi: After a deficient June, monsoons have picked up pace in India, recording above-normal cumulative rainfall for July, with this unevenness is expected to flare up food inflation, said economists...

"Inflation expectations for crops should be more subdued on account of rainfall progress," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, highlighting that the progress from now on till the harvest (in September) will influence sentiment, as any news of excess or deficit rainfall in any specific division which covers production of any crop can have an inflationary signal...

"The risk of food inflation continues to remain elevated as key agrarian states in northern India and the Eastern Gangetic plains continue to experience deficit rainfall", said Rajani Sinha, chief economist, CareEdge...

"Going forward, even though a high base last year is going to pull headline inflation down towards 4% in Q3, there are upside risks to food inflation due to an uneven monsoon even as sowing of key summer crops are tracking better than last year," Goldman Sachs said in a report Friday...

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