The three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) began on Wednesday. Later, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das briefed about the decisions taken at the meeting. The Monetary Policy Committee with a 4:2 decision has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5. This is the eighth time that the RBI has not made any change in the repo rate.
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Additionally, the Marginal Standing Facility has been kept at 6.75% and the Standing Facility Rate remains at 6.25%.
The RBI had hiked the repo rate to 6.5 percent in February 2023 and has maintained it seven times in a row since then. Experts had earlier said that the policy interest rate (repo rate) is unlikely to be cut given the current economic situation of the country. The biggest obstacle to rate cuts is rising inflation. In addition, the economic growth rate remains strong despite the repo rate being high at 6.5 percent since February 2023. The repo rate has been kept the same from February 2023. Experts also said that the trend is likely to continue.
Interest rate cuts expected in the third quarterThe policy interest rate is likely to be cut in the third quarter of the financial year 2024-25. When the series of cuts begins, it will be nominal, according to the latest analysis released by SBI Research.