Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will keep interest rates unchanged until at least July, a bit longer than the US central bank is expected to do so, on strong growth and still-elevated inflation, according to a firm majority of economists polled by Reuters.
India’s economy grew a stellar 8.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, the fastest among major economies. Inflation, which is still close to the upper band of the central bank’s 2 per cent-6 per cent target, does not hint at an imminent rate cut.
All 56 economists in the March 15-22 Reuters poll expected the RBI to hold the repo rate at 6.50 per cent at the conclusion of its April 3-5 meeting.
They were, however, divided on when the first cut would come, with nine of 52 saying next quarter, 24 picking the third quarter, 17 saying the fourth quarter and the rest expecting it at a later time. Median forecasts put the rate at 6.25 per cent by the end of September and 6.00 per cent at the end of this year.
