New Delhi, April 1 -- Retail inflation rose at a faster pace than anticipated in February. It picked up to 2.57 percent, after easing to 1.97 percent in January. This increase in retail prices is mainly due to higher costs of housing, health, education services and fuel. Wholesale inflation also showed a similar trend in the month, rising to 2.93 percent from 2.76 percent in January, due to rise in prices of fuel, electricity and some household items. Both readings are still within the RBI's comfort zone, however.
Now, let's look at the January IIP data. Industrial output growth slipped to a two-month low of 1.7 percent in the month, compared to 2.6 percent in December, 2018. This fall was mainly due to slowdown in the manufacturing sector...