Retail Inflation Eases to 4.29%, Factory Output Rises 22.4%

In April, India's retail inflation eased sequentially, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling to 4.29 per cent from 5.52 per cent in March. When determining monetary policy, the Reserve Bank primarily considers retail inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

India's industrial production grew by 22.4 per cent in March, official data showed on Wednesday. According to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), manufacturing sector output surged 25.8 per cent in March 2021. The IIP had shrunk by 18.7 per cent in March 2020. Mining output climbed 6.1 per cent and power generation increased by 22.5 per cent in March.

According to the data furnished by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the CPI Urban rose by 4.77 per cent last month from 6.52 per cent in March. Similarly, the CPI Rural climbed by 3.82 per cent in April from 4.61 per cent in March. As per the NSO data, Consumer Food Price Index increased to 2.02 per cent last month from a rise of 4.87 per cent in March. The CFPI readings measure the changes in retail prices of food products.

During 2020-21, IIP contracted 8.6  per cent compared to 0.8 per cent contraction in 2019-20.Industrial production has been hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic since March last year when it contracted by 18.7 per cent. The IIP had registered a growth of 5.2 per cent in February last year. 

As per the data released by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, inflation in the food basket was 2.02 per cent in April, down from 4.87 per cent in the preceding month. Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA, said given the high base related to the supply disruptions seen during the nationwide lockdown in April 2020, the CPI inflation dipped to a three-month low in April 2021, while printing somewhat higher than the expectations. Overall, the prevailing localised restrictions appear to have had a limited impact on prices in April 2021, she added.