Page 19 - Policy Economic Report - April 2025

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

• Rural Inflation: A notable fall was recorded in both headline and food inflation in rural areas.

o Headline inflation fell from 3.79% in February to 3.25% in March
o Food inflation dropped from 4.06% to 2.82%
• Urban Inflation: Headline inflation in urban areas saw a marginal rise to 3.43% in March, up from
3.32% in February. However, food inflation declined significantly from 3.15% to 2.48%.

• Housing Inflation: For the urban sector, housing inflation rose slightly to 3.03% in March 2025
from 2.91% in February.

• Fuel & Light: Inflation in this category rebounded to 1.48% in March from -1.33% in February,
covering both rural and urban areas.

• Education Inflation: A moderate increase was noted in education-related inflation, rising to 3.98%
from 3.83% the previous month.

• Health Inflation: Prices in the health segment saw a mild rise, with inflation at 4.26% in March,
up from 4.12% in February.

• Transport & Communication: Inflation in this category increased to 3.30% in March 2025
compared to 2.93% in February.

• Items with Highest Inflation: In March 2025, the top five items with the highest year-on-year
inflation were coconut oil (56.81%), coconut (42.05%), gold (34.09%), silver (31.57%), and grapes
(25.55%).

• Items with Lowest Inflation: The items witnessing the steepest decline in prices were ginger (-
38.11%), tomato (-34.96%), cauliflower (-25.99%), jeera (-25.86%), and garlic (-25.22%).

India PMI

India's private sector expansion reached an eight-month high in April, 2025, fuelled by strong demand and
a notable surge in foreign orders for manufactured goods, according to the HSBC Flash India Composite
Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global.

The Composite PMI rose to 60.0 in April from 59.5 in March, marking the strongest growth in combined
manufacturing and services activity since August. A reading above 50 signals expansion.

The manufacturing sector showed particularly strong momentum, with its PMI climbing to 58.4, up from
58.1, reaching a one-year high. The services sector also maintained solid growth, with its PMI increasing
to 59.1 from 58.5, the highest level in four months. Private sector firms noted a record increase in new
export orders during April amid healthy demand from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the
Americas.

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