MPC Meet

A comfortable level of foreign exchange reserves will further bolster macroeconomic stability, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the bank's monetary policy decision on Thursday.

The RBI has paused because it wants to evaluate the cumulative impact of the past rate hikes

The rupee declined to an intraday low of at 82.06 per U.S. dollar versus 81.88 before the RBI policy announcement

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday made it clear that the decision to hold rates should be seen as a pause, and not as a pivot. The rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will act on the rates as and when necessary, Das said. "If I have to characterise today's monetary policy in just one line...it's a pause, not a pivot," Das told reporters in the customary interaction with reporters after the announcement of the policy review. Earlier in the day, the six-member MPC voted unanimously to keep the repurchase or repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent, surprising analysts who were expecting the central bank to make a final 25 basis points hike before opting to pause. Das said RBI is keen to assess the cumulative impact of the rate actions done till now. There has been a cumulative hike of 250 basis points since May 2022. Deputy Governor Michael Patra said RBI has marginally upped its FY24 growth estimate to 6.5 per cent primarily on assumption of a decline in the ..

Volatility in global financial market has potential upsides for imported inflation, says committee

Catch all the updates of the live address by Reserve Bank of India's Governor Shaktikanta Das on the decision by the Monetary Policy Committee on repo rate

The Reserve Bank on Thursday projected marginal easing in retail inflation to 5.2 per cent in the current fiscal, but cautioned that the fight against inflation is far from over. Although the Reserve Bank pared its inflation estimate from its February projection of 5.3 per cent, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the inflation outlook remains dynamic amid the recent jump in crude oil prices on account of OPEC decision to cut output. Taking into account a crude oil price of USD 80 per barrel and a normal monsoon, the retail inflation in the current fiscal is projected to be 5.2 per cent with risks evenly balanced, Das said. For the June quarter, the retail inflation is expected to average 5.1 per cent, and rise to 5.4 per cent each in the September and December quarter. It is expected to decline to 5.2 per cent in the March 2024 quarter. Das said the Central bank's war against inflation will continue until the inflation is brought down to target level. "The fight against inflation

RBI repo rate: The MPC decision to hit the pause is for this policy cycle only, says RBI governor Shaktikanta Das

The currency opened at 82.08 a dollar as against Monday's close of 82.33 due to weaker job data in the US and went on to touch 81.92 levels on corporate inflows

Inflation in Asia's third-largest economy remains above the central bank's upper tolerance limit of 6.00%, reaching 6.52% in January and easing only slightly to 6.44% in February

Latest reading has increased uncertainty

One cannot completely rule out the possibility that the pause button would be pressed at the next MPC meet. Future actions, both for policy rate and stance, will depend on evolving data

The RBI's caution on inflation and its relatively hawkish position demonstrate its steadfast commitment to achieving the inflation target of 4%

Central bank management speaks to the media about inflation, economy and government borrowing

RBI MPC: Shaktikanta Das said that the repo rate hike of 25 bps is considered appropriate at this juncture but the monetary policy will remain agile to inflation

RBI monetary policy: In December, Das had said that despite consecutive rate hikes, core inflation had continued to remain 'sticky'

The RBI is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday, which many traders believe will be the last before a prolonged pause

Economists and businesses await to see what will be committee's stance in 2023

MPC is said to have failed to achieve inflation target if average CPI inflation falls outside 2-6% range for three straight quarters. This was the case in the three quarters from Jan to Sept of 2022

Catch all the latest updates on the RBI's bi-monthly monetary policy announcement today