Hyderabad : Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan on Thursday said the inflation, which rose to 3.58 per cent in October, may ease by December and remain below the 4 per cent level by the end of the current fiscal.
Rangarajan said he thinks this is the end of the season when prices rise as far as food articles are concerned.
There will be a seasonal decline in food prices by next month, he said.
“Therefore, I believe now that the monsoon has also been good, the food prices may come down rather than rise further,” the former central bank chief told PTI. He was speaking on the sidelines of a lecture by Rathin Roy, director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, organised by the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education here.
“It (the inflation) could be close to 4 per cent limit is what we are talking about. It should be 4 per cent or slightly below that (by FY18-end),” Rangarajan said. Wholesale inflation rose to a seven-month high in October as prices of food articles, led by onion and vegetables, witnessed a sharp rise. Rangarajan, however, refused to answer whether the RBI would consider the inflation rate while undertaking the policy review next month. Earlier, in his address, he said the government’s role as a producer of marketable goods is diminishing.
