India' retail inflation in July eased below 2% for the first time in eight years, on the back of falling prices of food items including vegetables and pulses, hurting some farmers but giving the central bank room to cut interest rates further.

The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was 2.1 per cent in June and 3.6 per cent in July 2024. The July 2025 inflation is the lowest since June 2017 when it was at 1.46 per cent.

In July, rural inflation stood at 1.18%, down from 1.72%, while urban inflation eased to 2.05% from 2.56%. On the other hand, fuel and light inflation increased to 2.67% from 2.55