High Food, Fuel Prices Lead Retail Inflation Rise To 7.59 Per Cent In January; Industry Output Dips In December

Higher prices of food items such as vegetables, eggs, meat and fish, along with fuel costs, pushed India's retail inflation during January to 7.59 per cent from December's 7.35 per cent that was at 1.97 per cent in the corresponding period of last year.

According to the National Statistical Office, the consumer food price index remained at an elevated levels of 13.63 per cent from minus 2.24 per cent recorded in January 2018.

Similarly, the high fuel prices lifted the inflation rate of 'fuel and light' category to 3.66 per cent.

On the other hand, decline in manufacturing activity, contracted India's December factory output by 0.3 per cent from a rise of 1.82 per cent in November and 2.5 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous year.

"The 'Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production' with base 2011-12 for the month of December 2019 stands at 133.5, which is 0.3 per cent lower as compared to the level in the month of December 2018," the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation said.

"The cumulative growth for the period April-December 2019 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 0.5 per cent."

(With inputs from IANS)