India’s Retail inflation eases to 5.66% in March

As per data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), India’s headline retail inflation declined to a 15-month low of 5.66% in March 2023 as compared to 6.44% in the previous month. As there was a sharp moderation in food inflation during the month under review on the back of a decline in vegetable prices.

Rural inflation stood at 5.51%, while urban inflation was higher at 5.89%. Meanwhile, the Consumer Food Price Index fell to 4.79% as compared to 5.95% in February.

The data further said that vegetable prices in March 2023 were cheaper by 8.51%, and oils and fats also became cheaper by 7.86% on a year-on-year basis during the month under review. Meat and fish became cheaper by 1.42%, however, the prices of cereals jumped sharply by 15.27% on a year-on-year basis.

Besides, Ministry of Statistics showed on Wednesday that India's industrial output, as measured by the index of Industrial production or IIP, in February rose 5.6% year on year. For the 11-month period from April 2022 to February 2023, industrial output registered a growth of 5.5% and the January IIP growth was revised to 5.2%.