Annual inflation rate is expected to have risen to 12 percent in mid July, driven by higher costs of commodities and strong demand in the economy, a Reuters poll of 12 economists showed.
The wholesale price index is forecast to have risen 12.03 percent in the 12 months to July 19, which would be the highest since annual numbers in the current series became available in April 1995. It rose an annual 11.89 percent a week earlier.
The data is due after 5.30 p.m. on Thursday.
It would be the 23rd consecutive week that the inflation rate has been above 5.5 percent, the Reserve Bank of India’s original target for inflation at end of the fiscal year ending in March 2009.
At a policy review on Tuesday where it raised its key lending rate by 50 basis points to 9 percent and also increased banks’ reserve requirements, the RBI said it was now aiming to bring inflation down to 7 percent by end March.
The double strike against inflation jolted financial markets, and analysts said the RBI was clearly prepared to sacrifice some growth for tamer prices with more tightening expected.
The wholesale price index is more closely watched than the consumer price index (CPI) because it includes more products and is also published weekly. The CPI is released monthly.
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