By IANS
New Delhi : India’s inflation will remain above 4 percent for the current fiscal even as efforts will continue to bring down prices, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Thursday.
“It is expected to be above 4 percent. Our efforts will be to further contain inflation,” Chidambaram told reporters outside parliament, after tabling the Economic Survey for 2007-08.
Inflation in the first week of February this year shot up to a six-month high with the wholesale prices climbing to 4.35 percent for the week ended Feb 9, as against 4.07 percent and 4.11 percent in the preceding two weeks.
Also in the first week of February, prices of food articles such as fruits and vegetables, condiments, spices, fish, arhar, bajra and barley rose, the data showed.
The wholesale price index data is released weekly and considered the benchmark inflation indicator. The inflation rate stood at 6.52 percent in the corresponding week last year.
The ministry of commerce and industry last week revised the inflation rate for the week ended Dec 15 to 3.84 percent from 3.45. The government revises the rate after receiving additional price data.