Why have timings for release of CPI inflation and IIP data been advanced, and the likely problems with this change

Why was the information merchandise timing kept astatine 5:30 p.m. earlier?

Back successful 2013, determination were immoderate reports of information getting leaked earlier the authoritative merchandise clip that had led to galore representations to the Ministry to support the timing of the information release, particularly retail ostentation data, aft the marketplace hours. The retail ostentation and IIP information utilized to beryllium released astir 11-11:30 americium connected the 12th of each period till June 2013.

Retail ostentation data, which is simply a intimately watched indicator for the Indian economy, would past go a important input for trading and taking positions successful markets, particularly successful the forex and authorities enslaved markets.

After the representations were made astir information leaks astatine that time, the Ministry past changed the merchandise clip for the retail ostentation and IIP information to 5:30 p.m. from July 2013 onwards. The timing was changed keeping successful caput that the forex and authorities enslaved markets adjacent astatine 5 pm.

While retail ostentation information has ever been released connected a monthly basis, the wholesale ostentation information was released play till December 2012. Now, it’s released connected the 14th of each period astir noon.

What is the caller alteration successful information merchandise timing?

While announcing the alteration successful information merchandise timing for retail ostentation and IIP connected Tuesday, the Ministry said it volition supply much clip connected the time of merchandise to entree data. “The CPI & Index of Industrial Production plays a captious relation successful economical argumentation and fiscal markets by reflecting inflationary trends crossed rural, urban, and combined sectors and concern maturation successful the country,” it said.

Currently, the CPI and IIP are released by the MoSPI connected the 12th of each period astatine 5:30 pm. If 12th is simply a holiday, past CPI information is released connected the adjacent moving time and IIP is released connected the erstwhile moving time if 12th falls connected a holiday. The information merchandise successful November for some CPI and IIP volition beryllium made astatine 4 pm.

The Ministry stated that the caller merchandise clip aligns with the closing hours of large fiscal markets successful India, “ensuring that CPI information dissemination does not interfere with progressive trading”. “This accommodation besides adheres to MoSPI’s committedness to transparency and accessibility successful information dissemination,” it said. Analysts, however, constituent to the information that portion the banal markets whitethorn adjacent by the 4pm merchandise time, immoderate fiscal markets specified arsenic the authorities enslaved and the overseas speech markets, which are besides delicate to ostentation information releases, stay unfastened till 5 pm, The suggestion, therefore, is that the merchandise clip of 4 p.m. inactive does means the information could beryllium sensitive, fixed the extended timings of the enslaved marketplace and the currency market.

What is the value of CPI and IIP data?

Consumer Price Indices (CPI) measurement changes implicit clip successful the wide level of prices of goods and services that households acquisition for consumption. CPI is wide utilized arsenic a macroeconomic indicator of ostentation and arsenic a instrumentality by governments and cardinal banks for ostentation targeting and for monitoring terms stability, and arsenic deflators successful the nationalist accounts.

Inflation is the complaint astatine which prices for a handbasket of selected goods and services emergence implicit a play of clip and it is calculated by measuring year-on-year alteration successful CPI, that is, existent period CPI implicit CPI of aforesaid period of past year. At present, the CPI (combined), which is the astir intimately watched indicator for retail inflation, is linked to basal twelvemonth 2012 since the clip of merchandise successful January 2015. Before that, it was linked to the basal twelvemonth 2010.

The IIP information measures the quantum of changes successful the concern accumulation successful an system and captures the wide level of concern enactment successful the country. It is measured arsenic an scale fig to worth the abbreviated word changes successful the measurement of accumulation of a handbasket of concern products during a fixed play with respect to the basal period, which is 2011-12 astatine present. It covers concern maturation crossed 3 sectors – Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity – and antithetic use-based categories, that is, basal goods, superior goods, intermediate goods, user durables and user non-durables. The IIP is watched arsenic a short-term indicator for concern maturation till the merchandise of the Annual Survey of Industries and National Accounts Statistics.