NEW DELHI, Sept 20: India’s inflation rate has held stubbornly above the 12 per cent mark, official data showed on Thursday.

Annual inflation was at 12.14 per cent for the week ended September 6 from 12.10 per cent a week earlier, according to the Wholesale Price Index, India’s most watched cost-of-living monitor.

The figure was roughly in line with analysts’ forecasts and still far above the central bank’s target of seven per cent for the fiscal year to March 31, 2009.

Analysts say they expect India’s central bank to tighten monetary policy at least one more time to get inflation under control before gradually starting to lower interest rates, most likely in 2009.

We are seeing rangebound inflation, but it may not be fully out.

We expect inflation to remain in double digits till the year end, said Siddhartha Sanyal, economist with brokerage Edelweiss Securities.

The next monetary policy announcement is scheduled for October 24.

Inflation, stoked by a rise in energy, food and other commodity prices, has nearly tripled from a year ago, and is now riding at its highest levels since the current inflation series began being compiled 13 years ago.—AFP