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India’s retail inflation eases to a seven-month low of 3.61 per cent in February 2025; food inflation in February 2025 also falls to 3.75 per cent, compared with 5.97 per cent in January 2025.
India’s official CPI inflation data for February 2025 has been released.
Retail Inflation in February 2025: India’s retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index, eased a seven-month low of 3.61 per cent in February 2025, mainly on account of lower rate of price rise in vegetables and protein-rich items, according to the latest official data released on Wednesday. Meanwhile, India’s industrial output, based on the Index of Industrial Production, records a growth of 5 per cent in January 2025, which is the highest in eight months.
The country’s retail inflation had stood at 4.31 per cent in January 2025, and 5.09 per cent in February 2024. The previous low was recorded in July 2024, when the retail inflation had stood at 3.60 per cent.
The food inflation in February 2025 stood at 3.75 per cent, compared with 5.97 per cent in January 2025, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Office (NSO).
“A sharp decline of 222 basis points is observed in food inflation in February 2025 in comparison to January 2025. The food inflation in February 2025 is the lowest after May 2023,” the NSO said.
It added the significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation during February is mainly attributed to the decline in inflation of vegetables, egg, meat, and fish, pulses and products; and milk and products.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been asked to ensure retail inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. It cut the short-term lending rate (repo) by 25 basis points last month on easing concerns on the inflation front.
The next RBI MPC meeting will take place between April 7 and April 9, 2025.
The latest inflation data creates space for the RBI for second reduction in interest rate next month.
India’s IIP Grows Rises Amid Strong Manufacturing
India’s industrial production rose by 5 per cent in January 2025 mainly due to good performance of the manufacturing sector, according to official data released on Wednesday. The government also revised upward industrial growth figure to 3.5 per cent for December 2024 from the provisional estimate of 3.2 per cent released in the previous month.
The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose by 4.2 per cent in January 2024.
The data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the manufacturing sector’s output grew by 5.5 per cent in January 2025, up from 3.6 per cent in the year-ago month.
Mining production growth dipped to 4.4 per cent from 6 per cent year-on-year. Power output growth slowed to 2.4 per cent in January 2025 from 5.6 per cent a year ago.
In the April-January period, the IIP grew 4.2 per cent, down from 6 per cent recorded in the year-ago period.
