India's inflation falls below 6pc
AFP, New Delhi
India's inflation rate fell below six percent in the week to January 1 for the first time in 30 weeks on the back of easing oil, food and vegetable prices, the government said Friday. The Wholesale Price Index, India's most widely-tracked price monitor, slipped 0.61 percent to 5.78 percent from 6.39 percent the previous week. The index has been hovering since July at more than seven percent, hitting a peak of 8.74 percent in August, compared to a low of 4.32 percent in late April. The cooling of the inflation rate will provide some relief to the Congress-led coalition government. The government resorted to a series of fiscal measures, including cutting duties on petroleum products, to curb inflation and shield the poor. The figures were in line with a central bank report which forecast that India's high inflation rate would be reined in within months as global oil prices fell.
| 
