India's Wholesale Price Inflation Enters Negative Territory, But No Risk of DeflationIndia's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the first week of June went sub-zero for the first time in 35 years. The fall is largely due to the high base effect caused by the sudden jump in prices of fuel and power as well as manufactured goods last year.The WPI had reported an 11.7% rise for the first week of June 2008. The situation has changed a lot since then. Due to the bloated base, the current decline seems to be of more statistical significance.Decline in wholesale prices however provides some scope to the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates again in order to offer additional stimulus to the economy. The central bank estimates that three stimulus packages already announced, along with six interest-rate cuts in last ...