'Some amount of inflationary pressure to persist'

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that while inflation was a cause for concern, some amount of inflationary pressure was likely to persist.

The inflation by the end of this year would be close to 6.5 per cent, he said, though the government hoped it would be close to six per cent. “One of the disturbing trends is inflationary pressure. Some amount of inflationary pressure will be there, when as a policy we have to increase the prices of foodgrains, which is by increasing the minimum support price to encourage the farmers to grow,” he said at the annual general meeting of Bharat Chamber of Commerce.

On rising onion prices, he said, this could be addressed through long-term solutions like building cold chains.