The inflation worries are not yet over though the rate of price rise has come down from a peak of 12.82 per cent in August to 8.40 per cent for the week ended November 22, says India's Chief Statistician Pronab Sen.
"We can't really say that we are completely out of the woods yet," he told PTI pointing out that inflation in the manufacturing and food prices will continue to be there.
"Anybody who is saying that inflation would go below three per cent or negative... I think is wishful thinking," Sen said.
Reserve Bank of India, too, had recently said that record rise in retail prices (Consumer Price Inflation) in September and October "...Is possibly owing to firm trend in food article inflation".
Some research agencies such as Edelweiss Capital had earlier pointed out that inflation will be near zero in the second half of 2009 on account of economic slowdown and falling commodity prices.
"...With falling commodity prices and economic slowdown inflation will be near zero in certain periods of 2009," Edelweiss Chairman Rashesh Shah had said.
The wholesale price-based inflation soared after the government increased the petroleum prices in June and peaked to 12.82 per cent for the week ended August 9. The rate of price rise, however, started declining with fall in commodity and crude prices in the international market.
Falling crude prices, which dipped to about $42 per barrel from a high of $147 a barrel, prompted the government to reduce per liter price of petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 5, respectively, in the first week of December which is expected to have a benign impact on prices.
