India's annual inflation accelerated to more than 12 percent for the first time in over 13 years, official data Thursday showed, stoking expectations of further monetary tightening to tame prices.

Inflation edged higher to 12.01 percent for the weekended July 26, up from 11.98 percent for the week ended July 19, according to the Wholesale Price Index, India's most watched cost-of-living monitor.

The inflation rise was in line with market expectations.

The rise came a week after India's central bank hiked its key short-term lending rate by a bigger-than-expected half-a-percentage point to nine percent in an aggressive bid to tame inflation riding at a 13-year high.

The Reserve Bank of India also raised by a quarter point to nine percent the percentage of cash commercial banks must park with the central bank -- the cash reserve ratio - in a bid to curtail credit growth.