Jan IIP at 0.1%,Feb CPI inflation falls to 8.10%

• The Index of Industrial Production(IIP) in January stood positive 0.1% versus CNBC poll,which expected a contraction of around 1.1%.Meanwhile,the consumer price index(CPI) for February,which is precursor to the RBI policy on April 1,came in at 8.10%
• India’s industrial output recorded marginally 0.1 % growth in January, 2014 after contracting for three months in a row.
• The marginal improvement in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was mainly on account of higher power generation and mining sector output, while manufacturing declined.
• Though, the cumulative growth of the industrial production during the 10-month period from April to January of this financial year was flat compared to an over 1 % growth in the same period of 2012-13.
• India’s annual Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) falls to 8.10% in February 2014, i.e. 25-month low on account of lower food prices.
• As per the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, inflation fell for the third consecutive month and eased to 25-month low of 8.10 percent in February mainly on account of a drop in food prices. In other words, overall inflation in the food basket, including beverages, slowed to 8.57 % in February from 9.9 % in the previous month.
• The rate at which vegetable prices increased eased to 14.04 % as against 21.91% in January. Retail inflation also slowed in protein-rich items viz. eggs, fish and meat to 9.69 % in February as opposed to 11.69 % in January.

Note: A Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) measures changes in the price level of a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households