January retail inflation raises to 5.1percent

January retail inflation raised after the base year changed but hovered within the central bank's comfort levels. While industrial output growth remained sluggish in December, thus interest rate cut hopes still alive.Government on Thursday showed consumer prices rose 5.1% in January, higher than the previous month's 4.3% after the base year was changed from 2010 to 2012."Despite the rise in inflation in January, inflation remains in the comfortable zone. We expect RBI to deliver rate cuts in the range of 50-75 bps in the next fiscal," said ratings agency Crisil."We expect inflation to average at 6.5% for this fiscal. For 2015-16, we expect inflation to average at 5.8%, supported by lower oil prices, normal monsoons, pro-active steps by the government and better monetary and fiscal coordination."