Leaders from the Group of Eight industrial powers will discuss ways to tackle soaring energy and food prices at their summit next month, Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.

INFLATION IMPACT Inflation is expected to come down to 5.5 per cent in financial year 2008-09 and kharif crop is likely to play a major role in this regard, says the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). "We retain our forecast of 5.5 per cent inflation for the year FY'09. We expect inflation to increase further in the next couple of months and start receding from September onwards," CMIE said in its monthly review. Inflation, measured in the wholesale price index (WPI), increased to 11.05 per cent for the week ended June 7.

Given the challenges posed by the increase in food prices and energy costs, regional responses for food security and energy self sufficiency would be high on the SAARC Summit agenda, it was revealed yesterday during a meeting between Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The economy remained

Soaring food prices and starving children provide a stirring backdrop to Europe's debate on its biofuels targets, but the big businesses of farming, forestry and automotive could have a heavier influence on policy. The green credentials of biofuels have come under attack in recent weeks over fears they compete for farming land and push up food prices around the world. Riots over food in more than a dozen countries, from Indonesia to Haiti, have added urgency to the debate.

The production of clean energy for transportation makes demands on resources that are already scarce. Biofuels can contribute to a solution, but only to a limited extent. (Editorial)

FOR India, the crash in global commodity prices comes as an answer to a prayer.

Lack of buying interest, inadequate storage spaced cited as reasons for the fall in prices.

The Wholesale Price Index numbers for the week ending March 8, released last week, showed that the inflation rate surged almost a percentage point compared to the previous week.

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