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India inflation falls below 11 pct, more easing seen
AFP - Friday, October 31
NEW DELHI (AFP) - - India's inflation rate fell below 11 percent for the first time since May, giving the central bank more room for rate cuts to spur the economy and ease a credit crunch, economists said Thursday.
Annual inflation fell by nearly four-tenths of a percentage point -- more than financial markets forecast -- to 10.68 percent for the week ending October 18 from 11.07 percent a week earlier, according to official data.
"Inflation is falling faster than expected," said Dharma Kriti Joshi, economist at Crisil credit rating agency, adding the drop opened the door to further monetary easing to blunt the impact of the global financial crisis.
"Inflation could touch five percent by March 2009," Joshi said. "Nobody expected the global economy to slow so sharply. That's changed the scenario."
Analysts had forecast inflation of 10.8 percent.
Inflation, which was nudging 13 percent in August, has been falling in Asia's third-largest economy as global commodity prices slide and consumer demand drops amid a credit crunch caused by the financial upheaval.
Industry bodies have been clamouring for rate cuts to ease the impact of the turmoil on companies whose profits have been slowing.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India said cement, steel, real estate and other firms might have to start laying off as much as 25 percent of their workforce soon despite tough laws meant to discourage redundancies.
"Factories are cutting production and that means retrenchment," T.K. Bhaumik, an economist with Assocham, told AFP. "If I can't run my factory, what do I care if there's a strict hire-and-fire law?"
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry called the bank's response to the financial crisis "clearly inadequate" and said recruitment was on the downswing.
India's central bank has forecast economic growth slowing to 7.5 to eight percent while private economists see expansion slipping as low as seven percent after the economy grew by nine percent last year.
The bank kept interest rates steady at a policy meeting last week after a surprise full percentage point cut in the repo, its key benchmark rate at which it lends funds to commercial banks, to eight percent a few days earlier.
But it said it was ready to act swiftly to counter the financial crisis.
Banks around the world have been cutting rates to spur growth with the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, slashing its main policy rate to one percent and neighbouring China also lowering key interest rates.
HDFC Bank chief economist Abheek Barua, who saw India's inflation hitting single-digits in December, said he expected another drop in the cash reserve ratio -- the sum commercial banks must keep on deposit -- and a half point cut in the repo rate "in the next few weeks".
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