December retail inflation soars 5.21 pct

Retail inflation for the month of December 2017 stood at 5.21 percent, up from 4.88 percent in November, while the general index for the month of November 2017 stood at 125.6, which is 8.4 percent higher as compared to the level in the month of November 2016.

The indices of Industrial Production (IIP) for mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors for the month of November 2017 stood at 107.4, 127.5 and 140.1 respectively, with the corresponding growth rates of 1.1 percent, 10.2 percent and 3.9 percent as compared to November 2016.

The cumulative growth in these three sectors during April-November 2017 over the corresponding period of 2016 was 3.0 percent, 3.1 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.

In terms of industries, fifteen out of the twenty three industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during the month of November 2017 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

The industry group 'manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products' reported a 39.5 percent growth, followed by 29.1 percent in 'Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products' and 22.6 percent in 'Manufacture of other transport equipment'.

On the other hand, the industry group 'Other manufacturing' showed negative growth of (-) 15.9 percent, followed by (-) 13.1 percent in 'Manufacture of wearing apparel' and (-) 11.2 percent in 'Manufacture of electrical equipment'.

As per use-based classification, the growth rates in November 2017 over 2016 are 3.2 percent in primary goods, 9.4 percent in capital goods, 5.5 percent in intermediate goods and 13.5 percent in infrastructure/ construction goods. The consumer durables and consumer non-durables have recorded growth of 2.5percent and 23.1 percent respectively.

Some important item groups showing high positive growth during the current month over the same month in previous year include 'Bodies of trucks, lorries and trailers' (202 percent), 'Digestive enzymes and antacids (incl. PPI drugs)' (110.7 percent), 'Separators including decanter centrifuge' (71.4 percent), 'Axle' (61.9 percent), 'Stainless Steel utensils' (55.5 percent), 'Sugar' (46.4 percent), 'Steroids and hormonal preparations (including anti-fungal preparations)' (40.9 percent), 'HR coils and sheets of mild steel' (37.2 percent), 'HR plates of mild steel' (22.8 percent) and 'Two-wheelers (motorcycles/ scooters)' (20.7 percent).

On the other hand, groups registering negative growth include 'Jewellery of gold (studded with stones or not)' [(-) 68.7 percent], 'Anti-malarial drug' [(-) 66.4 percent], 'Hand Tools incl. interchangeable tools, not mechanised' [(-) 51.8 percent], 'Plastic jars, bottles and containers' [(-)43.9 percent],'Printing Machinery' [(-) 40.4 percent], 'Electric heaters' [(-) 37.1 percent], 'electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits [(-) 22.6 percent], and 'Readymade Garments, knitted' [(-) 21.6 percent].