Indian Economy Shows Resilience: Industrial Output Rises, Inflation Falls

New Delhi, Feb 13 (KNN) The Indian economy, according to data released on Monday, has displayed resilience as industrial output saw an uptick while inflation experienced a decline at the onset of the year.

In December, industrial output growth rebounded to 3.8 per cent after experiencing a drop to an eight-month low of 2.4 per cent in November.

Concurrently, Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation dropped to a three-month low of 5.1 per cent in January, as reported by the statistics ministry.

The latest figures suggest a revival in manufacturing momentum in December following a period of slowdown. From April to December, factory output expanded by 6.1 per cent, slightly surpassing the 5.4 per cent recorded during the same period the previous year.

December witnessed a decrease in inflation to 5.1 per cent from 5.7 per cent in November, primarily attributed to a slower increase in prices of food items such as cereals, milk and milk products, fruits, pulses, and spices.

Although remaining above the central bank’s target of 4 per cent, inflation has consistently remained within its tolerance range of 2-6 per cent for the fifth consecutive month.

Notably, food inflation declined to 8.3 per cent in January from 9.53 per cent in December, despite the previous month's sharp rise in prices of vegetables, pulses, spices, and cereals.

Food inflation, which constitutes nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, stood at 8.7 per cent in November, 6.61 per cent in October, and 6.62 per cent in September.

(KNN Bureau)