Price battle half-won

It is far too early to claim victory in our battle against rising inflation, though the statistics bureau released the 8.5 percent consumer price index (CPI), the main measurement of inflation, for April yesterday.

With inflation remaining high - 0.2 percentage point higher than in March , policymakers are sure to feel substantial pressure as the situation has proved to be more complicated than expected.

The sign of lingering high inflation has become obvious as the producer price index, released last week, rose to 8.1 percent from 8 percent in March, pointing to increasing pressure from industrial sectors on overall prices.