August 04, 2007	Saturday	Rajab 19, 1428

NEW DELHI, Aug 3: India's inflation rate eased to 4.36pc on falling food prices, official data on Friday showed, after the central bank held benchmark interest rates steady earlier in the week.

Inflation dropped in line with market expectations for the week ended July 21 from 4.41 per cent for the previous week on the back lower prices for food items such as pulses, fruits and eggs.

According to the wholesale price index -- India's most closely watched cost-of-living monitor -- inflation stood at 4.72 per cent for the same period a year ago.

The latest inflation figures came after the Reserve Bank of India in its quarterly policy review on Tuesday kept its key repo rate steady at 7.75 per cent.

But the bank warned that “inflationary pressures remain and are more persistent than before, along with high commodity and asset prices.” The RBI cut the amount of money available for loans by hiking the commercial banks' cash reserve requirements by 50bps to 7pc.—AFP