New Delhi, July 24 -- The latest inflation estimates based on the consumer price index (CPI) and wholesale price index (WPI) have brought cheer to policymakers and financial markets. For June, retail inflation, as measured by the CPI, was recorded at 2.1% on a year-on-year basis.

Rural inflation was even lower, at 1.72%, while it was 2.56% in urban areas. These are India's lowest readings since January 2019, when the economy was in a slowdown. Wholesale inflation, in fact, turned negative, with prices down 0.13% in June from a year earlier.

While inflation at a six-year low is good news for the central bank and policymakers who have struggled to bring it down, the composition of our inflationary trends across commodities and their group...