Inflationary pressure is not expected to subside in the near future and the wholesale

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price rise would be close to nine per cent by the end of this month, apex chamber CII said today.

However, in the same breath, the chamber has sought to maintain status quo in the policy rates by RBI which are taken as benchmarks for the interest rates.

It said that a uniform view from a survey of about 100 CEOs was that "The inflationary pressure is not expected to subside any time soon."

As many as 56 per cent of the survey respondents maintained that inflation could go up to 9 per cent by end- March.

Wholesale price-based inflation rose to 8.56 per cent in January, as per the official data.

While, the interest rates are expected to harden in the wake of inflationary pressure, the CII felt "The best response from RBI would be to maintain status quo on both cash reserve ratio and policy rates."

The survey projected GDP growth of 8-8.5 per cent in the next fiscal, more or less in line with the official estimates.

About 64 per cent of the CEOs surveyed by the chamber felt that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would be able to keep the fiscal deficit to 5.5 per cent of GDP as given in the Budget 2010-11.