Inflation based on the wholesale price index rose marginally to 4.55 per cent for the week ended December 3 from 4.54 per cent in the previous week due to the increase in prices of food items.
Spiraling prices of vegetables, non-food items and manufactured products pushed up inflation to 4.75 per cent for week ended October 29 from 4.49 per cent in the previous week.
But lower growth numbers in the quarters to come may not mean renewed weakness in the economy at the ground level, says Pranjul Bhandari.
Inflation targeting framework is now enshrined as a formal agreement by the government and the RBI; thus, it may seem that we are flogging a dead horse, says Soumya Kanti Ghosh.
Richard Illey, chief economist, (Asia, ex-Japan) at BNP Paribas, talks to Business Standard on inflation and related issues ahead of the Reserve Bank's annual review of monetary policy.
Street expects RBI to keep CRR unchanged, opt for open-market operations to ease liquidity
Inflation moderates, but a rate cut is unlikely.
Food articles inflation at 8.43% compared to 8.14% m-o-m.
India's economic growth rate is expected to be at least 6 per cent in the 2013-14 fiscal, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan said.
As per official data released on Wednesday, WPI inflation in the food articles category rose to double digits at 11.91 per cent, driven mainly by price rise in onion, cereals and rice.
Costlier food items, including vegetables, pushed the October wholesale inflation to 7 per cent, the highest in the current financial year.
Inflation in pulses, vegetables and cereals was higher in Jan.
However, prices of most agricultural items, barring potatoes, onions and wheat, continued to rise.
However, risks to the outlook stems from possible sub-normal monsoon and higher crude oil prices (on account of the crisis in Iraq)," the Economic Survey 2013-14 tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
'Everyone confuses GDP to be a measure of output, when it is actually a measure of income.'
Wholesale Price Index for the month ended March moderated to 3-year low of 5.96 per cent against Reserve Bank's projection of 6.8 per cent.
Use a mix of instruments that will beat both the wholesale and consumer price indices
Banking shares are down up to 11% after the Reserve Bank of India has increased the policy repo rate by 25 basis points from 7.25% to 7.5% with immediate effect.
Asked if the RBI will cut rates in its upcoming policy review, he said the central bank will definitely factor into account various developments and make an assessment of the macro economic conditions.
It can be closer to RBI's perceived comfort level.
According to the Dun and Bradstreet economy forecast while subdued demand is expected to slow down the overall inflation, upside risks to overall inflation persists from depreciation of rupee and increase in global crude oil prices.
Rupee had last ended at 54.81-level a dollar on April 5.
Benchmark shares indices ended marginally higher on Tuesday, amid a volatile trading session, led by oil exploration major ONGC.
The NSE Nifty too breached the 11,500-level with a jump of 145.30 points.
The overall inflation in March fell to 5.96 per cent.
RBI faces contradictory signals.
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Food prices for consumers also eased to an annual 11.06 percent in August from 11.24 per cent in July.
Weakness remains in IT and metal shares; Infosys continues downtrend.
This increases expectations that RBI may cut rates later this month.
The market breadth in BSE ended unhealthy with 1,475 shares declining and 649 shares advancing.
The rise in food inflation was on account of increase in prices of onions, vegetables, cereals and protein-based items.
Food prices rose 18.19 per cent year-on-year in October, slower than an annual rise of 18.4 per cent in September.
In its monetary and macroeconomic development report, RBI has raised hopes of a rate cut but also flagged some challenges.
However, so far only 16 states have amended their Acts based on the model provided by the centre.
Food inflation, as measured by Wholesale Price Index, stood at 10.60 per cent in the previous week.
However, some experts also feel that there is a case for front-loading of interest rate cut to give a push to the economy
Fitch Ratings said with GDP growth of 6.5% and WPI-based inflation of 8.8%, India may have entered into a stagflation period in 2011-12.
Rajan has been facing continuous attacks by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy and some other sections, who have alleged that he has failed to lower interest rates and boost the economy
The WPI number follows retail inflation (CPI) data, which had slipped to a record low of 3.78 per cent in July.
Though it eased slightly, prices of food items like rice, wheat pulses and potato showed a rise.
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