After registering the highest growth in 17 months in November at a revised 8.8%, led by capital goods, the index of industrial production (IIP) remained robust in December 2017 at 7.1%. It was 2.4% in December 2016.Consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation, which hit a 17-month high in December at 5.2% in December, cooled down a bit in January at 5.07%.Industrial production grew 3.7% in April-December 2017, down from 5.1% in the corresponding period a year ago.IIP data for December, along with CPI for January, will be crucial for the second advance estimates of GDP for 2017-18, which will be released by the end of this month."Retail inflation is likely to hover around the 5% mark in the January-March quarter.

After registering the highest growth in 17 months in November at a revised 8.8%, led by capital goods, the index of industrial production (IIP) remained robust in December 2017 at 7.1%. It was 2.4% in December 2016.Consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation, which hit a 17-month high in December at 5.2% in December, cooled down a bit in January at 5.07%.Industrial production grew 3.7% in April-December 2017, down from 5.1% in the corresponding period a year ago.IIP data for December, along with CPI for January, will be crucial for the second advance estimates of GDP for 2017-18, which will be released by the end of this month."Retail inflation is likely to hover around the 5% mark in the January-March quarter.