14 seconds ago 2009-12-10T15:50:02-08:00
NEW DELHI (AFP) – India's inflation jumped in October, official data showed Saturday, putting pressure on the central bank to start reversing an aggressive series of interest rate cuts.
Inflation rose 1.34 percent in October from the same month a year earlier, according to the Wholesale Price Index, India's most-watched cost-of-living benchmark.
The rate was more than twice the annual 0.50 percent increase logged in September, according to the Commerce and Industry Ministry figures, which were presented on a monthly basis for the first time.
The government has begun calculating inflation data on a monthly rather than a weekly basis to allow more time to compile the figures and give a more accurate snapshot of price movements.
The central Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates to record lows to shield the economy from the impact of the global financial crisis.
But economists say accelerating inflation combined with signs of a rebound in Asia's third-largest economy could prompt the central bank to begin increasing benchmark borrowing rates early in the new year.
