India weighs steps to cool wheat prices

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Soaring wheat prices in India could prompt price-cooling measures such as the release of state reserves into the open market while axing the 40% tax on imports, trade and government sources said on Thursday.

The government has been trying to rein in food inflation, but its efforts have been complicated by wheat prices that have climbed to record highs. Stung by a sudden drop in crop yields, India banned exports of the grain in May.

Market arrivals from the previous harvest, meanwhile, have slowed to a trickle as farmers have run out of stocks, growers and traders said.