Inflation shoots up to 16-year peak

India's inflation climbed to a 16-year high in the early part of this month mainly due to rising food and fuel prices, stoking fresh concerns about a possible tightening of monetary policy over the next few months. Annual inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), rose to 12.44% in the week ended August 2 from 12.01% in the previous week, the Commerce & Industry Ministry said on Thursday. The figure was much higher than consensus estimate of 12.15-12.25%. The annual rate of inflation stood at 4.39% in the comparable period last year. Meanwhile, the Government revised the annual inflation rate for the week ended June 20 to 11.66% from a provisional forecast of 11.05% while the WPI for the same period stood at 236.5 compared to 235.2 earlier.