Oil surge may harden RBI outlook as inflation accelerates to 17-month high

According to the Statistics Ministry, consumer prices rose 5.21 per cent in December from a year earlier

India’s retail inflation accelerated more than estimated to a 17-month high and little respite is seen in the coming months amid a surge in oil prices, increasing the odds that borrowing costs will rise sooner than expected.

Consumer prices rose 5.21 per cent in December from a year earlier, the Statistics Ministry said in a statement in New Delhi on Friday, faster than the 5.10 percent Bloomberg consensus. Sovereign bonds fell in extended trading hours on growing concerns about inflation and speculation the government will miss its deficit target for the year through March 2018 when it unveils its budget