NEW YORK. Dec 11: US consumer price inflation will remain tame for November despite steamrolling economic growth and high energy prices, economists said yesterday.

A Reuters poll of US economists showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of consumer inflation, is expected to have increased 0.2 per cent in ■ November, the same increase as October.

.'The real drivers behind CPI over the past year have been oil prices and tobacco. Without those, we're seeing a much more benign inflation picture." said Brian Wesbury. chief economist at Griffin Kubik, Stephens & Thompson Inc. "The rise in commodity prices that we have seen this year has not flowed through into finished goods or consumer items at all.”

Crude Oil prices have more than doubled since February,

hitting a high of $27.15 a barrel on November 22. On Friday. NYMEX crude for January delivery slipped to $24.90 a barrel on news the United Nations would renew the "oil-for-food" programme with Iraq six months into the future.

While market participants are watching intently for signs of inflation as the US economy continues to expand, they do not expect next week's CPI data to shed much light on whether the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates again soon.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). the Fed's policy-setting body. last raised rates at its November 16 meeting by one quarter-percentage point to 5.50 per cent.

None of the US primary dealers — the firms that deal directly with the New York Fed — in a recent Reuters poll said they expect the FOMC to raise rates when it meets Dec. 21.