Siddhartha Sanyal, Chief Economist & Head Research, Bandhan Bank.
Quote:
“The status quo on the repo rate in today’s MPC meeting was almost a foregone conclusion and the committee did not spring any surprise. Interestingly, despite lowering the Q1 FY24 CPI inflation forecast by 50 basis points, the CPI projection for the full year was kept almost unchanged. As expected, the RBI underscored that the vigil on inflation will remain strong as they emphasised on the importance of reaching the CPI target of 4% rather than merely staying within the tolerance band. The emphasis on achieving the 4% target and keeping the stance of policy unchanged at “withdrawal of accommodation” likely have pushed out expectations of rate cuts at the margin. Overall, the central bank is expected to keep the repo rate unchanged for several quarters, likely beyond the current calendar year. Monetary policy in India of late had been prudent, decisive and often front-loaded, a trend that is likely to continue in the foreseeable future”.
