Retail inflation up at 5.5 pc in March, IIP in Feb contracts 3.6 pc

NEW DELHI: Retail inflation rose to 5.52 per cent in March due to higher food prices, according to the government data released on Monday.
The consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation was 5.03 per cent in February and 5.91 per cent in March last year.
The combined food price inflation rose to 4.94 per cent in March as compared to 3.87 per cent in February.
The rate of fall in vegetables prices was at 4.83 per cent in March as against 6.27 per cent in the previous month, said an official statement released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Inflation in fuel and light was high at 4.5 per cent during March compared to 3.53 per cent in February.
Meanwhile, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted 3.6 per cent for February 2021, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The industrial output contraced by 1.6 per cent in the previous month (January 2021) and expanded to 4.5 per cent in February 2020.
The manufacturing sector output contraced by 3.7 per cent in February while the mining output fell by 5.5 per cent. However, power generation grew by 0.1 per cent. (Agency)