'Inflation may touch 6%-mark by June'

The country may see inflation touch the six per cent mark by June-July period as global prices of crude oil, food items and commodities continue to surge, economists believe.

High global oil, food and commodity prices have been fuelling inflation and with the likely continuation of this trend over the next few months, any hope of policy rate cuts by the Reserve Bank in the near-term has all but evaporated, they said.

"There is a tremendous upward pressure on inflation and I see it inching close to the 6 per cent mark by end-June," Bank of Baroda's Chief Economist Dr Rupa Rege Nitsure told PTI here.

A continuous rise in inflation figures over the last two months has seen it breach the Reserve Bank's projected level of 5%, last week. Inflation stood at 5.11% for the week ended March 1, as against 5.02% for the previous week.

High global oil prices at around $110 per barrel have contributed significantly to fuelling inflation, along with rising global food, edible oils and commodity prices.

"I expect inflation at around the 5.5% level next month. Rising commodity and food prices will definitely pressurise inflation but much will depend on how oil prices move," Crisil's Director and Principal Economist D K Joshi said.