According to RBIs August bulletin, persistent geopolitical tensions, rekindled fears of a potential recession in key economies and financial market volatility in response to monetary policy divergence cast a shadow on global economic prospects even as inflation moderated grudgingly across countries. In India, aggregate demand conditions are gathering momentum with revival in rural consumption on the back of growing incomes. This stimulus to demand is expected to reinvigorate the hitherto subdued participation of the private sector in total investment. Headline inflation moderated from its spike in June to 3.5 per cent in July, but this was primarily due to the downward statistical pull of base effects.