Industrial growth slows to 3.8% in Jan

NEW DELHI: Retail inflation remained unchanged in Feb but food and beverages prices inched up, while non-food items eased during the month. Separate data showed industrial output growth moderated in Jan from Dec’s upwardly revised number.
Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday showed retail inflation remained unchanged at 5.1% in Feb but below the 6.4% recorded in Feb last year. Rural inflation was higher at 5.3% while urban was at 4.8%.
Inflation in meat and fish (5.2%), eggs (10.7%), vegetables (30.3%) and pulses & products (18.9%) shot up during the month with food and beverages inflation remaining above 7% for the fourth consecutive month.

“Inflation in the miscellaneous group cooled off to a 51-month low of 3.6% in Feb 2024, amid a broad-based dip across all the six sub-categories, while that for housing and clothing and footwear also eased to multi-month lows in that month, helping to moderate the core-CPI inflation,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ratings agency ICRA.
Nayar said the upward revision in the NSO’s GDP growth estimates for Q1-Q2 FY24, along with three successive quarters of 8% plus GDP expansion, and the CPI print of 5.1% for Feb 2024, suggests status quo on interest rates and the RBI’s stance in April.
Separate data released by the NSO showed industrial output growth rose an annual 3.8% in Jan, lower than the upwardly revised 4.2% in Dec and below the 5.8% posted in Jan last year.
The key manufacturing sector grew by 3.2% in Jan, slower than the previous year’s 4.5%. Mining and electricity sectors also remained sluggish. The capital goods sector grew by 4.1% in Jan, slower than the 10.5% posted last year.