New Delhi, March 12 -- Inflation may have finally eased to below 4.0% in February, thanks to a continued correction in vegetable items, but high inflation in several items may continue to pinch consumers. A Mint analysis of item-wise inflation shows that despite the headline inflation easing to 3.61% in February, over one-fifth of the items in the basket still recorded inflation above 6%.

Inflation has eased for four consecutive months now as food prices, particularly those of vegetables, corrected in recent months. The sharper-than-expected easing (Mint poll pegged it at 3.9%) in February can be attributed to the first deflation for vegetables since June 2023. After touching a recent high of 42.23% in October 2024, vegetables recorded -...