Retail Inflation for Industrial Workers Eases to 4.59% in January

New Delhi, Feb 29 (PTI) Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to 4.59 per cent in January compared to 4.91 per cent in December 2023 mainly due to lower prices of certain food items.

Food inflation stood at 7.66 per cent in January 2024 against 8.18 per cent in December 2023. Food inflation was 5.69 per cent in January 2023 a year ago, a labour ministry statement said.

Retail inflation based on the consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) was 6.16 per cent in January 2023.

The All-India CPI-IW for January 2024 increased by 0.1 point to 138.9 points from 138.8 points in December 2023.

The maximum upward pressure in the current index came from the Housing group contributing 0.48 percentage points to the total change.

At the item level, House rent, Ladies Suiting, Casual wear, Saree Cotton, Woolen Sweater/Pull-over, Plastic/PVC Shoes, Tailoring Charges/Embroidery, Chewing Tobacco, Foreign/Refined Liquor, Pan Masala, etc. are responsible for the rise in the index.

However, it stated that this increase was largely checked by Onion, Potato, Tomato, Brinjal, Ginger, Peas, Cabbage, Cauliflower, French Beans, Lady's Finger, Banana, Grapes, Papaya, Pomegranate, Coconut Fresh with Pulp, Kerosene Oil, Charcoal, etc. putting downward pressure on the index.

At the centre level, Raniganj recorded the maximum increase of 4.2 points followed by Ramgarh with 2.5 points. Among others, seven centres recorded an increase between 1 and 1.9 points, and 38 centres between 0.1 and 0.9 points.

On the contrary, Guwahati and Tripura recorded a maximum decrease of 1.7 points each.

Among others, seven centres recorded a decrease between 1 to 1.4 points, and 30 centres between 0.1 to 0.9 points. The rest of two centres' index remained stationary.

The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, has been compiling the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers every month on the basis of retail prices collected from 317 markets spread over 88 industrially important centres in the country.

The index is compiled for 88 centres and All-India and is released on the last working day of the succeeding month.