January retail inflation at 68-month high of 7.59%; Dec IIP shrinks 0.3%

The index of industrial production (IIP) fell from a growth rate of 1.8 per cent, as the manufacturing sector slipped into negative territory again

A slim revival in industrial production in November had prompted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to see green shoots of recovery. But this has turned out to be a temporary blip — factory output has again contracted by 0.3 per cent in December. 

The retail inflation rate, however, rose to a 68-month high of 7.59 per cent in January, even as the rate of price rise in food items declined. However, the food inflation rate remained elevated at 13.63 per cent. The consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rate stood at 7.35 per cent; food inflation was at 14.19 per cent in