India Central Bank Steadies Key Rates After Consecutive Hikes

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has surprised markets by holding its key repo rate steady after six consecutive hikes.

It said it was closely monitoring the effect of recent global financial turbulence.

On Thursday, RBI said its policy stance remains focused on “withdrawal of accommodation”, signalling it could consider further rate hikes if necessary.

The pause in rate hikes is “for this meeting only”, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

Some other central banks have similarly paused or indicated they are ready to pause, such as the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Australia's bank held rates steady on Tuesday in order to assess the effect of past hikes but flagged that further increases may be necessary.

India's central bank sees inflation at 5.2 per cent in 2023-24, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth is seen at 6.5 per cent in the financial year beginning April 1.

Financial stability concerns appear to have prompted the pause in rate hikes, said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at rating agency ICRA.