20/03/2008 (Reuters, India) New Delhi - India, the world's biggest vegetable oil buyer after China, on Thursday cut import duties on some edible oils, including crude palm, to improve supplies and ease prices as inflation hit a 10-month high.

The import duty on crude palm oil was cut to 20 percent from 45 percent, while that on refined palm oil was trimmed to 27.5 percent from 52.5 percent, the finance ministry said.

The duty on soyoil was left unchanged.

Government data released on Thursday showed annual wholesale price inflation unexpectedly jumped to 5.92 percent in early March, well above levels the central bank is aiming for in the financial year to end-March.

Inflation has been trending higher since early December, mainly due to fast rising prices of some foods, and is posing a challenge for policymakers at a time when there are signs growth in the larger economy is slowing.