Inflation inches close to 8 per cent

The new inflation rate eclipsed the previous record of 7.61 per cent for the week ending April 26, reports Gaurav Choudhury.

The rate of inflation scaled a 42-month high of 7.83 per cent in the week ended May 3, official price data showed on Friday. A worried government has urged people to be patient— saying that prices would soon begin to ease.

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The spike in prices comes despite the anti-inflationary measures taken by the government and the Reserve Bank. The economy has already shown signs of deceleration beyond what many experts had predicted earlier. Earlier this week, government data showed industrial growth slumped to 3 per cent in March, the weakest in six years.

“Our expectation is that inflation will moderate …You have to be patient,” Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters
after the release of the inflation data.

The minister also asked industry leaders to desist from non-competitive behaviour and restrain from forming cartels. “We reserve the right to take more administrative measures,” he said.