Indian Inflation Jumps to 11.42% [WSJ]
June 30, 2008; Page A7
NEW DELHI -- India's inflation rate jumped to a 13-year high in the week ended June 14, as a recent fuel-price rise pushed up prices of food and manufactured products, but the government is unlikely to take more fiscal steps to cool prices.
Analysts expect the inflation rate to keep rising until October because of high global oil prices, forcing the central bank to keep a tight leash on monetary policy. "Even if prices completely stabilize now, we will have double-digit inflation for some time to come," said Subhasish Gangopadhyay, economic adviser to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.
Higher prices for manufactured products, such as chemicals and leather, pushed India's wholesale price index-based inflation rate to 11.42% from a year earlier, the highest since 11.24% in the week ended April 1, 1995. |
