Spiralling food prices, especially vegetables, sent retail inflation soaring in December 2019 to five-and-a half year high of 7.35 per cent, nearly double of the RBI’s comfort level, with experts warning that factors like rail fare hike may contribute to further uptick in core inflation in the ongoing month.As per National Statistical Office (NSO) data released on Monday, the spike in inflation in the vegetable segment was 60.5 per cent in December 2019 compared to the previous year. The overall food inflation rose to 14.12 per cent in December as against (-) 2.65 per cent in 2018.
