India's factory output growth flat, retail inflation up

NEW DELHI, May 12 : India’s factory output growth turned flat in March after rising during the month before, even as the annual retail inflation for April rose to 5.39 per cent from 4.83 per cent in March, official data showed on Thursday.

The factory output for February, based on the index of industrial production, which had turned positive at 2 per cent, after two straight months of decline, rose negligibly by 0.1 per cent in March, as per data released by the Central Statistics Office.

As regards annual retail inflation, based on consumer price index, the rise came after two straight months of decline. The inflation rates for the preceding three months were 4.83 per cent for March, 5.26 per cent for February and 5.69 per cent for January.

At the same time, the annual food inflation rose sharply to 6.32 per cent from 5.21 per cent. This apart, the annual retail inflation in the rural economy was relatively higher at 6.09 per cent, against 4.68 per cent in the urban areas.

Worryingly for industry, the index for manufacturing, which has the maximum weight in the overall index, actually fell by 1.2 per cent in the month under review. While the index for mining also fell, albeit margilly by 0.1 per cent, that for electricity grew by a robust 11.3 per cent.

Around the same time last month, there was much to cheer as official data forecast the rains during the upcoming monsoon season to be above normal, and that retail inflation fell to a six-month low while factory output rose after three months of decline.(IANS)