Retail inflation for the month of February measured by CPI or consumer price inflation increases to 2.57% versus 2.05% in the previous month due to a modest increase in fuel and food prices.

On the other hand, industrial production for January has been dragged down to 1.7% in comparison to 2.4% in December 2018. Manufacturing index came in at 1.3% as against 2.7% in the preceding month.

Industrial production slips to 1.7 per cent in January 2019 from 2.4 per cent in December 2018, manufacturing index at 1.3 per cent per cent v/s 2.7 per cent month-on-month. During the first month of the calendar year, out of the total 23 industry groups that are included in the manufacturing sector, 11 have registered growth.

It is for the seventh-consecutive month when inflation has stood below the central bank's medium term target of 4%.

The RBI in its sixth bi-month monetary policy review meet changed its policy stance from 'calibrated tightening' to 'neutral' and revised repo rate downwards by 25 basis points to 6.25% from 6.50% earlier. Also, it revised the trajectory for inflation lower for the last quarter of FY 2018-19 to 2.8%, 3.2-3.4% in the first half of 2019-20 and 3.9% in the third quarter of 2019-20, with risks broadly balanced around the central trajectory.

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