India’s retail inflation rose to 5.59% in December from 4.91% in November, government data showed on Wednesday. Retail inflation, which is an indicator of price rise, touched a five-month high in December, according to Economic Times.

The inflation went up mainly because of a sharp rise in food prices. In December, food inflation rose to 4.05% compared to 1.87% in November. Prices of cereals, egg and milk products went up in December. Apart from this, the inflation on meat and fish prices saw a rise of 4.58%.

Prices of clothing and footwear, education, health as well as recreational activities and transportation also recorded a rise in December, as compared to November.

However, the December inflation figures are within the Reserve Bank of India’s mandated range of 2% to 6%.

IIP grew at 1.4% in November

The country’s factory output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production, witnessed a growth of 1.4% in November, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Wednesday.

Industrial growth in the has surged 17.4% so far in this financial year, compared to a contraction of 15.3% in the corresponding April to November period a year ago.

The IIP rose primarily due to growth in the mining sector, which recorded a 5% rise. The electricity sector also witnessed a growth of 2.1%. The manufacturing sector registered a 0.9% growth.