Retail Inflation In India Eases To 4.85 Per Cent In March From 5.09 Per Cent In February

Retail Inflation in March: Retail inflation in India eases to nine-month low of 4.85 per cent in March from 5.09 per cent in February

Retail Inflation in March: Retail inflation in India eases to nine-month low of 4.85 per cent in March from 5.09 per cent in February, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Friday. The inflation in the food basket was at 8.52 per cent in March, down from 8.66 per cent in February, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Continuing geopolitical tensions also pose an upside risk to commodity prices and supply chains.

RBI projection

As per the latest MPC announcements, RBI Govenor Shaktikanta Das said that CPI inflation projected at 4.5 per cent for FY25. The latest numbers are well within tolerance band of the central bank's 2-6 per cent, with the target set at 4 per cent. The RBI projected inflation at 4.9 per cent in the April-June quarter and at 3.8 per cent for the September quarter.

According to a Reuters poll, economists anticipate that India's retail inflation in March eased to a five-month low of 4.91 per cent. Nevertheless, this number remains above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium-term target of 4 per cent, mainly due to ongoing rises in food prices.

The price data are collected from selected 1,114 urban markets and 1,181 villages covering all states/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO. During March 2024, NSO collected prices from 99.8 per cent villages and 98.5 per cent urban markets, while the market-wise prices reported therein were 89.6 per cent for rural and 93.2 per cent for urban.

IIP grows 5.7% in February

Meanwhile, Official figures unveiled on Friday also revealed that India's industrial production clocked 5.7 per cent in February. Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) indicated that the manufacturing sector exhibited a 5 per cent growth in February 2024, a slight decrease from the 5.9 per cent growth observed in the corresponding month of the previous year.

The mining sector saw an 8 per cent increase in production during February 2024, while power output saw a commendable rise of 7.5 per cent during the same period. Over the period from April 2023 to February 2024, the IIP expanded by 5.9 per cent, surpassing the 5.6 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.