Consumer Price Index inflation stood at 2.92% in April, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said on Monday. This is marginally higher than the 2.86% inflation recorded for March.
The government said that retail inflation in urban areas was 4.23% in April, and 1.87% in rural areas. Retail food prices rose 4.64% in urban areas, but declined 0.8% in rural regions. The consumer food price index for both rural and urban areas combined stood at 1.1%.
Prices of health products rose the most in April, by 8.42%. Prices of meat and fish increased 7.55%. Retail prices in the education sector rose 6.93%, price of recreation and amusement increased 5.56%, and miscellaneous items cost 5.10% more. The retail prices of fruits fell the highest, by 4.89%, and the retail price of sugar and confectionery declined 4.05%.
On Friday, the government said industrial output declined by 0.1% in March, showing negative growth for the first time in 21 months. The industrial output growth in February was 0.1% and 1.7% in January. The poor data adversely affected stock markets on Monday, with both the Sensex and Nifty falling 1%.
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