REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Indian wheat prices surged to an eight-month high on Tuesday, propelled by strong demand for big festivals, limited supplies and as import duty makes overseas buying unfeasible for domestic flour mills. Rising wheat prices could contribute to food inflation. Wheat prices in New Delhi jumped by 1.6% on Tuesday to 27,390 rupees ($329) per metric ton, the highest since Feb. 10. "Festival season demand is driving up wheat prices. As of Oct. 1, wheat stocks in government warehouses stood at 24 million metric tons, sharply down compared with a five-year average of 37.6 million tons.

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Persons: Amit Dave, Pramod Kumar S, Sanjeev Chopra, Ashwini Bansod, Bansod, Rajendra Jadhav, Robert Birsel Organizations: Agriculture, REUTERS, Rights, Federation, Phillip Capital India, Ltd ., El, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, Rights MUMBAI, New Delhi, Ltd . India, Mumbai