Inflation to cool down in 2 months: Montek

New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The Indian Planning Commission
Monday said food prices will come down in the next two months
easing the overall inflation, which is currently at over 8.5
per cent.
"The trend is that food price will come down in the next
two months. I am sure that the trend down on food prices will
bring down the overall inflation in the next two months,"
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia
told reporters.
The wholesale price inflation (WPI) rose to 8.56 per cent
in January, the highest in over 13 months, shooting past the
Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) forecast of 8.5 per cent for
this fiscal end.
The WPI hike was mainly because of a surge in prices of
food items such as sugar, potatoes and pulses. Overall
inflation in December was 7.31 per cent.
In January, sugar prices rose by 58.96 per cent
year-on-year while potatoes turned costlier by 53.39 per
cent and pulses by 45.64 per cent.
About the government's borrowings next fiscal, Ahluwalia
said, "If fiscal deficit goes down the govt borrows less that
year...means more money is available for private sector."
India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has projected a
fiscal deficit of 5.5 per cent (of GDP) in his budget for
2010-11 against the estimates of 6.7 per cent for this
financial year. MORE PTI