| Inflation down at 5.4% |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi May 18, 2007 |
| Annual inflation eased below 5.5 per cent for the first time in nearly four months. While this represents the third consecutive weekly fall in inflation, the data have prompted fears that the central bank may tighten interest rates again because prices of major commodities have risen, implying that recent monetary and fiscal measures have not yielded immediate results. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation declined to 5.44 per cent for the week ended May 5, down from 5.66 per cent the previous week. This decline is mainly attributed to the base effect, rather than an actual easing of prices of the three commodity groups |
