2017.12.1208:52:00UTC+00India Inflation Climbs To 15-month High In November

India's retail inflation accelerated to its highest level in fifteen months in November, as food price growth surged and fuel prices increased, preliminary data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Tuesday.

The consumer price index rose 4.88 percent year-on-year after 3.58 percent in October.

Inflation exceeded economists' consensus of 4.29 percent and the Reserve Bank of India's 4 percent target.

Food price inflation accelerated to 4.42 percent from 1.90 percent. Fuel inflation climbed to 7.92 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI edged up 1.10 percent and food prices rose 1.58 percent.

Separately, the statistical office released industrial production data that showed a 2.2 percent growth for October, slower than the 2.9 percent gain economists had expected.

Manufacturing grew 2.5 percent and mining output rose 0.2 percent. Electricity output increased 3.2 percent.

Accelerating inflation leaves little room for the RBI to reduce interest rates. Last week, the bank left all its key interest rates unchanged and raised its inflation projection for October to March to 4.3-4.7 percent.

The next policy session is in February.

India's economic growth regained momentum in the three months to September as the dust settled after the roll out of the Goods and Sales Tax that led to the slowest expansion in three years in the previous quarter.

Gross domestic product grew 6.3 percent year-on-year following 5.7 percent increase in the three months to June.

The RBI has projected real gross value added growth for 2017-18 at 6.7 percent.

In November, Moody's Investors Service raised the sovereign ratings of India for the first time since 2004, citing economic and institutional reforms.

However, Standard & Poor's maintained the country's sovereign ratings at the lowest investment grade with a 'stable' outlook, citing sizable fiscal deficits, a high general government debt burden and low per capita income. The agency last raised the ratings on India to 'BBB-' in January 2007.