More scope to cut interest rates, says RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

Das said he hoped a recent trade deal between the United States and China would hold and not be reversed

There is scope for cutting interest rates further and the central bank will use it when required after studying the growth and inflation data, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday. The monetary policy committee (MPC) surprised markets and analysts this month by holding rates steady after trimming the key interest rate by 135 basis points since the beginning of the current rate reduction cycle in February.

“While taking a pause we, very carefully and very definitely, said there is space for further monetary policy action, but the timing will have to be decided in a manner that its impact is optimum and its impact is maximised,” Das said at a conclave organised by the Times media group. Das said the markets were surprised when the committee started cutting rates in February but subsequently accepted that it was right in doing so. “And this time, the pause we have taken, I do hope that events will unfold in a manner which will prove that the MPC decision is right,” Shaktikanta Das said.

He said both the government and the central bank had taken steps to help the economy recover but the outcome of events in the global economy would play a role. Das said he hoped a recent trade deal between the United States and China would hold and not be reversed. The “Phase one” agreement reduces some US tariffs in exchange for a big jump in Chinese purchases. “What is important in the current context is coordinated and timely action by all the advanced and emerging economies to revive growth,” he said.

“Growth is an issue of discussion in India and global growth is also an issue of discussion because that does impact. For a moment, I am not implying that the slowdown that we have seen in India is entirely due to global factors, but it does impact growth prospects for India.”

RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 5.75%, changes stance to accommodative

According to a Bloomberg Survey, 31 of 43 economists had projected 25 basis point rate cut while three penciled in a 50 basis points cut.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.75 per cent in the second bi-monthly monetary policy meet of the financial year 2019-20 (FY20), that concluded on Thursday. It was a third straight interest rate cut by the RBI. Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends money to the commercial banks, in case of any shortfall of funds. Consequently, reverse repo rate now stands at 5.50 per cent. The stance of the policy was also changed to ‘accommodative’ from ‘neutral’.

All members of the MPC (Dr. Chetan Ghate, Dr. Pami Dua, Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, Dr. Viral V. Acharya and Shri Shaktikanta Das) unanimously decided to reduce the policy repo rate and change the stance of monetary policy from neutral to accommodative.

GDP forecast revised downward

The central bank also lowered its growth forecast for the economy for 2019 – 20. Weak global demand due to escalation in trade wars, the RBI feels, may further impact India’s exports and investment activity. The GDP growth projections for 2019-20 was cut to 7 per cent from 7.2 per cent, forecast in the RBI’s meeting in April 2019. “Taking into consideration the above factors and the impact of recent policy rate cuts, GDP growth for 2019-20 is revised downwards from 7.2 per cent in the April policy to 7.0 per cent – in the range of 6.4-6.7 per cent for H1:2019-20 and 7.2-7.5 per cent for H2 – with risks evenly balanced,” the RBI statement said.

Policy in-line with expectation

The RBI was widely expected to go for an interest rate cut amid dismal gross domestic product (GDP) growth, subdued investment and slowdown in consumption space. Last week, government data showed GDP growth slowed to a five-year low of 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY19. According to a Bloomberg Survey, 31 of 43 economists had projected 25 basis point rate cut while three penciled in a 50 basis points cut. Elara Capital, in its report dated June 1, had said weak growth amid benign CPI inflation is expected to create room for the Monetary Policy Committee to cut the repo rate by 50-75 bps through FY20E, beginning in June 2019…

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Do you have an EMI? RBI rate hike to make your borrowings more expensive

The RBI raised interest rates to the highest in 2 years to tackle inflationary pressures

Planning to take a loan? You should not wait any longer. EMIs (equated monthly installments) on home, personal, auto and other loans are set to get costlier as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent from the previous rate of 6.25 per cent.

The RBI has also raised the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent. The decision was taken during the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) bi-monthly meeting on Wednesday.

ALSO READ :  RBI monetary policy: Hike as expected; next increase likely in 2019

In its last monetary policy meeting on June 6, the RBI had already increased the repo rate by 25 bps (basis points). Headed by governor Urjit Patel, the central bank raised key policy rates to the highest in two years for the second time in a row in last two months to tackle inflationary pressures.

Over the last two bi-monthly MPC review meetings; there has been a total of 50 bps increase in the repo rate. The second-consecutive increase in repo rate comes as a shocker for those who are already paying EMIS, taken loans from banks or are planning to borrow in future.

ARTICLE SOURCE : BS 

Full text of RBI policy: Repo rate cut by 25 bps to 6%

The MPC noted that inflation excluding food and fuel has fallen significantly over the past 3 months

economy news : The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday cut its main policy rate by a quarter percentage point to a more than 6-1/2 year low after inflation slumped.

RBI cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.00 per cent - the lowest since November 2010 - as a slump in food prices sent June consumer inflation to a more than five-year low of 1.54 per cent.

The MPC noted that some of the upside risks to inflation have either reduced or not materialised:

(i) the baseline path of headline inflation excluding the HRA impact has fallen below the projection made in June to a little above 4 per cent by Q4

(ii) inflation excluding food and fuel has fallen significantly over the past three months

(iii) the roll-out of the GST has been smooth and the monsoon normal. Consequently, some space has opened up for monetary policy accommodation, given the dynamics of the output gap. Accordingly, the MPC decided to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points

Here is the full of text of 'Third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2017-18 Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Reserve Bank of India':

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to:

•reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.25 per cent to 6.0 per cent with immediate effect.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.25 per cent......Read full article 

Demonetisation: RBI will give junked notes' figure after counting, says FM

Arun Jaitley says final figures will come out once the fake notes were weeded out

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Tuesday said the RBI is in the process of counting scrapped currency notes and will come out with the final figures once the fake notes were weeded out.
Answering oft-repeated questions over the issue, he said in the Lok Sabha that the Reserve Bank had received the last tranche of scrapped currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 only in July and the central bank would take time in counting the billions of notes.

Economy News policy

On November 8 last year, the government had scrapped high denomination currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 which amounted to around 86 per cent of the currency in circulation.
Replying to a discussion on supplementary demands for grants in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said one of the major benefits of demonetisation was squeezing of funds for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and naxalites in Chhattisgarh.

On questions regarding the amount of scrapped currency deposited back in the banks, the finance minister said, "Today they (RBI) have to count every currency note. They have to take the fake currency out...That exercise the RBI is taken to a very advanced level."

The minister said since March demands were being raised for disclosure of the amount of scrapped currency deposited in the banks but it can not be done over night.

"...I am hearing that argument 'tell us the currency'. Please study the subject closely. And therefore as soon as they (RBI) complete this exercise, the figure will be placed by them before the country along with the figure of fake currency," he added.....(READ MORE)

Full text: RBI keeps rates unchanged, cuts inflation projection

RBI keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.25%

 

ECONOMY NEWS| The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday kept its policy repo rate unchanged at 6.25 percent, as widely expected, while lowering its projections for inflation after recent data showed consumer prices rising more slowly. RBI last changed the policy rate with a 25 basis points cut in October.

Here is the full text of the RBI policy

Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2017-18 Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Reserve Bank of India.

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting on Wednesday, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to:

1.  keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.25 per cent.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 6.0 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.50 per cent.

The decision of the MPC is consistent with a neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth. 

Assessment

2.  Since the April 2017 meeting of the MPC, globa economic activity has expanded at a modest pace, supported by firming growth in major advanced economies (AEs) and in some emerging market economies (EMEs) as well. In the US, a tightening labour market is generating wage gains. Alongside, industrial production has steadily improved in recent months and retail sales remain robust, although home sales ebbed in April. Political risks remain high, however. In the Euro area, the recovery has been underpinned by consistently falling unemployment, rising retail sales and a brighter outlook for manufacturing reflected in purchasing managers’ and business surveys. In Japan, exports supported by a depreciated yen and industrial activity are driving an acceleration in growth.  | READ MORE