NEW DELHI, July 6: India’s inflation rate jumped by a surprise tenth of a percentage point, snapping 10 straight weeks of decline, but remained at a 14-month low, official data showed on Friday.

Inflation rose to 4.13pc for the week ended June 23, on the back of higher food costs, from 4.03pc a week earlier, but was lower than the 4.84pc registered a year ago, according to the wholesale price index, India’s closely watched cost-of-living monitor.

This week’s figure, which defied analysts’ forecasts that it would remain flat, was still comfortably within the central bank’s medium-term inflation target of 4.0 to 4.5pc and well below its goal of close to five per cent for the current financial year to March 2008.

Economists have said the central bank will be closely watching the inflation pattern ahead of its next policy review on July 31, but they expect it to leave interest rates on hold.—AFP