Industrial production, consumer and wholesale price indices' data to be released soon: Here's what to expect

The government is set to release the industrial production (IIP) data, consumer price index (CPI) data and wholesale price index (WPI). The CPI data for December and IIP data for November is slated to be announced on January 12, while November's WPI data will be released on January 16.

The Index of Industrial Production or IIP is used to measure manufacturing activity in different sectors of an economy. IIP measures the amount of industrial production for the period under review — November, in this case — in comparison with a reference period. This macroeconomic data shows the state of various important economic sectors.

The IIP growth for November is expected to come at 2.7 percent, against a decline of four percent in October, and 1.4 percent in the year-ago period, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll. Core industries grew 5.4 percent year-on-year in November 2022 vs 0.9 percent, month-on-month partially aided by favourable base.

The rise in IIP will be supported by improved electricity production, up 12 percent, coal up 12 percent, steel up 10.8 percent, and cement up 28.6 percent year-on-year. The manufacturing PMI rose steadily from 55.3 in October to 55.7 in November and 57.8 in December.  Motor vehicle production increased from 20.4 percent year-on-year in November vs 1.1 percent year-on-year decline in October 2022.

In October, the IIP growth stood at a decline four percent, down from 3.1 percent in the preceding month.

Here's how various sectors performed in October and September

The CPI is an index that measures retail inflation by examining the changes in prices of most common consumer goods and services. It is calculated for a fixed list of items including food, housing, apparel, transportation, electronics, medical care, education, etc.

CPI in December is seen at 5.84 percent against 5.88 percent in the preceding month and 5.59 percent in the year-ago period. According to a poll by CNBC-TV18, the November CPI estimates range from 5.7-5.92 percent. December's core CPI is expected to be reported at 6.06 percent, up from 6.04 percent in November as per the poll by CNBC-TV18.

For November, CPI stood at 5.88 percent against 6.77 percent in the preceding month and 4.91 percent in the year-ago period.

Vegetables are witnessing a seasonal decline in winter. Vegetable prices declining could be offset by sustained inflation in cereals. Pulses, oils, fats prices moderated month-on-month, and milk prices have risen. Food inflation is likely to remain largely unchanged. Core CPI continued to remain sticky led by services inflation.

WPI measures the price changes of goods that wholesale businesses sell to and trade in bulk with other businesses. The index tracks factory gate prices before retail prices, unlike CPI, which tracks prices of goods and services purchased by consumers.

The December WPI is seen at 5.57 percent against 5.85 percent in the preceding month, and 14.27 percent in the year-ago period, as per a CNBC-TV18 poll. The November WPI came in at 5.85 percent against 8.39 percent in the preceding month, and 14.2 percent in the year-ago period.

WPI is expected in the range of 5.45 percent to 5.8 percent. December's WPI is expected to soften due to high base and moderation in input prices. Core WPI estimated to soften to 2.8 percent vs 3.9 percent month-on-month. The CRB index fell down 1.3 percent month-on-month.

S&P Manufacturing PMI survey indicates relatively a muted pressure on manufacturing sector.  Cost pressures remained muted in December 2022 with inflation little unchanged from November 2022.