New Delhi, April 16 -- With food prices having eased, it seems inflation in India is at last starting to stabilize. Retail inflation, according to government data released on Tuesday, eased to 3.3% in March over the same month last year, compared with 3.6% in February.

This is the lowest reading since August 2019.

Some of it may be thanks to last year's high statistical base that made this year's price increases look small. But a key reason was the dip in food inflation, which fell to 2.7% from 3.8%. A forecast by India's meteorological department issued on Tuesday of above-average rainfall this year lends credibility to expectations of benign prices, as does the recent slide in global crude oil prices.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ...