Inflation to decline to 7% by March: Pranab

With marginal decline in rate of price rise in January, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday expressed hope that the overall inflation will come down to 7 per cent by March end.

"I am hoping that it (inflation) would be roughly around 7 per cent (by March end). I hope so. But I cannot firmly commit it," Mukherjee told reporters here.

The overall inflation has shown a marginal decline to 8.23 per cent in January, from 8.43 per cent in the previous month.

The Finance Minister, however, said the inflation numbers in the coming months would depend on global developments and the way the commodity prices move in the global markets.