India's inflation accelerated to a nine-month high as prices of fruits, vegetables and oilseeds rose, giving the central bank less room to reduce interest rates.
Wholesale prices climbed 5.02 percent in the week ended Feb. 23 from a year earlier, faster than the previous week's 4.89 percent, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in New Delhi. A Bloomberg survey of 10 economists forecast a 4.8 percent gain.
Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said on March 4 the government may take more steps to curb inflation as the winter crop of wheat, rice and pulses is likely to slow this year. The Reserve Bank of India cited rising prices as the main factor when it held rates at a six-year high in January.
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