Inflation under control despite oil prices: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today that inflation was largely under control despite soaring prices of crude oil and food commodities. He underscored that the international price of crude oil had jumped to nearly $100 per barrel from $35 since mid-2004. The country imports 70 per cent of its crude oil needs.

“Global prices of food grains, pulses and edible oil have seen a sharp rise. Our endeavour has been to shield the poor and vulnerable sections from the effect of this rise,” he said. “We have been quite successful in this regard,” he added. “The Wholesale Price Index is rising by around 3-4 per cent, which is the lowest in the last 20 years.”

Government data released on Friday showed wholesale price inflation in the 12 months to November 3 above the previous week’s five-year low of 2.97 per cent. Despite the rise, inflation has now been below the Reserve Bank of India’s fiscal year estimate of 5 per cent for 22 weeks.