Retail inflation declined to a 10-month low of 4.85 per cent in March on an annual basis from 5.09 per cent in February last month, as per government data released on Friday, April 12, 2024.
A poll conducted by economists from Reuters had predicted retail inflation to come down to 4.91 per cent.
The inflation rate has stayed within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) tolerance range of 2-6 per cent. Compared to the previous month’s decrease of -0.11 per cent, the inflation rate rose to 0.16 per cent in the latest period, on a sequential basis.
India’s industrial production jumped to a four-month high at 5.7 per cent in March as per data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The industrial production was 4.2 per cent in the previous month.
Food inflation, constituting nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, rose by 8.52% in March, a slight decrease from the 8.66% increase in February. Fuel prices saw a year-on-year decline of 3.2% in March, compared to a 0.77% fall in February.
The inflation rates in rural and urban areas stood at 5.45 per cent and 4.14 per cent, respectively, showing a decrease from 5.51 per cent and 5.89 per cent recorded in the same month the previous year.
The latest inflation data follow the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announcement on April 5, where they decided to maintain the policy repo rate at 6.5% for the seventh consecutive time.