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June 26, 2008 15:46 IST
Last Updated: June 26, 2008 15:49 IST
Double-digit inflation is likely to continue for a few more weeks before government efforts kick in to ease the rate of price rise, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said.
Ahead of new inflation data to be released on Friday, he told a television channel that he cannot guess the inflation figure, but "will remain in double digit for some more weeks."
"I don't know. I can't guess the figure," Chidambaram told Karan Thapar in an interview for the Devil's Advocate programme to be telecast on CNN-IBN.
He, however, disagreed with a suggestion that inflation could spoil the United Progressive Alliance's chances in the upcoming general elections.
"Well, that's a premature conclusion. We will be defensive on inflation. All politics is about communication; we must communicate to the people why prices are high and efforts we are taking to moderate it," he said.
Inflation touched a 13-year high of 11.05 per cent as on June 7, after a partial pass through of increase in global crude prices.
Government and RBI have taken several fiscal and monetary steps to cool inflation, but these measures may also have a slowdown effect on economic expansion.
Asked whether the government feels achieving nine per cent growth this fiscal would be difficult, the finance minister said: "There will be some moderation in growth rate, but growth will not fall precipitously.
"(Given) the structure of our economy, which is about 57 per cent services, growth will still be above eight per cent, but the point is we want nine per cent growing up to 10 per cent. This year we can't hope for that," Chidambaram said.
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