India prices unexpectedly stagnate amid calls for rate cut

Mumbai

INDIAN wholesale prices unexpectedly stagnated last month, adding pressure on central bank governor Raghuram Rajan to cut interest rates. The wholesale-price index in November didn't advance for the first time since July 2009, when it fell 0.31 per cent. All 34 analysts in a Bloomberg survey had forecast an increase.

Mr Rajan earlier this month left interest rates unchanged for a fifth straight meeting while signalling a possible easing early next year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has called for lower borrowing costs to boost Asia's third-biggest economy, which saw industrial output fall 4.2 per cent in October.