November headline inflation at 9.11 percent


New Delhi: India's annual inflation based on wholesale prices continued to remain at elevated levels, official data released Wednesday showing it at 9.11 percent in November. Expectations of the Reserve Bank of India lowering interest rates could also be dashed as the high inflation will prompt the central bank to stick to the tight monetary policy if not raise rates further. The RBI will conduct its mid-quarter review of monetary policy on Friday. Inflation has been sticky and elevated for more than two years. November is the 12th straight month in which annual inflation has been over 9 percent. The weakness in the rupee is another danger in the short-term. With the rupee continuing to slide and hitting new lows consistently, the cost of imports, especially those of petroleum products, could further add to higher inflationary pressures. For November, the primary articles index went up by 8.53 percent, while that for fuel and power rose 15.48 percent, according to data released by ministry of commerce and industry. The index of manufactured products, which has the highest weightage on the wholesale price index, also rose by 7.7 percent in the month under review. The food articles index registered an increase of 8.54 percent.
Source: IANS