India’s retail inflation rate dropped below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper tolerance limit of 6% for the first time in two months in September, government data released on Thursday showed.

The inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) eased to 5.02% in September from 6.83% in August, mainly on account of a moderation in food prices. Retail inflation was at 7.44% in July while in June it was at 4.8%.

The rural and urban inflation stood at 5.33% and 4.65%, respectively.

According to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the inflation in the food basket declined to 6.56% in September versus 9.94% a month ago.

Separately, India’s industrial production increased by 10.3% to a 14-month high in August compared to 6.02% in July, according to the official data. This was driven by a low-base effect and robust growth in the power (15.3%), mining (12.3%) and manufacturing (9.3%) sectors.

Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had contracted by 0.7% in August 2022.