Retail inflation declines to 5.48% in Nov; IIP for Oct recorded at 3.5%

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India’s retail inflation in November was recorded at 5.48%, compared to 6.21% in October, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said.

The corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban areas in November were 5.95% and 4.83%, respectively.

The inflation data is in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s 2-6% comfort band.

Food inflation was recorded at 9.04% in November, compared to 10.87% in October.

As per the MoSPI data, the top five items showing the highest year-on-year inflation at an all-India level in November 2024 are garlic, potato, cauliflower, cabbage, and coconut oil. The key items with the lowest year-on-year inflation in November are jeera, ginger, LPG (excluding conveyance), and dry chillies.

On a year-on-year basis, the housing inflation rate for the month of November is recorded at 2.87%.

A significant decline in inflation was observed in vegetables, pulses & products, sugar & confectionary, fruits, eggs, milk and products, spices, transport & communication, and personal care & effects subgroups.

MoSPI also released India’s industrial production (IIP) data for October, showing that growth slowed to 3.5% year-on-year, compared to 11.9% in October 2023.

It said it was mainly due to the poor performance of mining, power, and manufacturing. The growth rates of the three sectors — mining, manufacturing, and electricity — for the month of October were 0.9%, 4.1%, and 2%, respectively.

The growth in factory output, measured in terms of the IIP, in April-October worked out to be 4% against 7% in the year-ago period, the data showed.

In October 2024, the capital goods segment growth decelerated to 3.1% from 21.7% in the year-ago period.

The output growth of consumer non-durables slowed to 2.7%, compared to 9.3% last year, while the production of consumer durable goods grew by 5.9% against a 15.9% expansion in October 2023.