Retail inflation falls to 1-year low of 5.72% in Dec, factory output rises to 7% in Nov

Retail inflation for December 2022 fell to a year’s low of 5.72 percent, mainly due to low food prices, especially those of fruits and vegetables. This is the second consecutive month when it has remained within the RBI’s tolerance band of 2 percent to 6 percent.

The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was at 5.88 percent in November 2022, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Thursday. In October 2022, it was at a higher band of 6.77 percent.

Food inflation stood at 4.19 percent in December 2022, lesser than the 4.67 percent level of November 2022, as per the official data.

Apart from fruits and vegetables, prices of oils and fats as well as meat and fish also fell in December 2022 compared to November 2022.

Meanwhile, factory output, which is measured in terms of the index of industrial production (IIP), rose 7.1 percent in November 2022 as against 4 percent in October 2022, government data showed.