Inflation Remains Unchanged At 3.5PC

India''s inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), remained unchanged at 3.5% for the week ended December 29, the Government said on Jan 11. The rate was slightly lower than the average forecast of 3.53%. It was also down from 5.89% during the same week last year. The WPI stood at 216.0 versus 215.9 in the week ended December 22. The index for Primary Articles declined to 222.1 from 222.4 in the previous week, while the index for Fuel & Power was static at 330.2. The index for Manufactured Products rose to 188.4 from 188.1. Inflation is in line with the Reserve Bank of India''s (RBI) FY08 target of 3-3.5% and is unlikely to rise sharply unless the Government decides to hike retail prices of petrol and diesel. If the Centre does bite the bullet and jacks up fuel prices marginally, there could be some impact on inflation.