April 05, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1429

NEW DELHI, April 4: Indian inflation accelerated to a more than three-year high of seven per cent, data showed on Friday, fanning fears of interest rate hikes that could slow growth further in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Annual inflation quickened by over three-tenths of a percentage point for the week ended March 22, driven in part by higher food prices, according to the Wholesale Price Index, India’s most-tracked cost-of-living monitor.

The country of 1.2 billion has been facing a daunting task in seeking to keep food and other goods affordable, especially for its poor masses, with inflation mainly propelled by soaring world prices for food, energy and metals.—AFP