August 19, 2006	Saturday	Rajab 23, 1427

NEW DELHI, Aug 18: India’s inflation rate jumped by more than a fifth of a percentage point to 4.82 per cent as manufactured goods became more expensive, official data released on Friday showed.

The rate, measured by the closely tracked wholesale price index, was up from 4.61 per cent a week earlier. It stood at 3.78 per cent in the same week a year earlier.

Inflation has been rising in India, prompting the central bank to hike its trend-setting short-term rate by 150 basis points since October 2004 in a bid to curb inflation in the fast-growing economy.

In July, the Reserve Bank of India lifted the reverse repo rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.0 per cent, the highest level in four years.

Inflation remains under the central bank’s 5.0-5.5 per cent target for the financial year to March 2007.

But analysts say with the economy likely to encounter mounting price pressures from rising oil import costs and robust demand, the central bank will tighten again, likely early in the new year.

Meanwhile, the country’s biggest lender, the State Bank of India, raised interest deposit rates by as much a half a percentage point on maturities of different durations.—AFP