Mumbai: For the eighth time in a row, the Reserve Bank of India decided to keep keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. The decision of the the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday.
Announcing the second bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year, Das said the central bank would maintain a tight vigil on inflation.
The rate increase cycle was paused in April 2023 after six consecutive rate hikes, aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022. “The MPC will remain watchful of elevated food inflation amid the expectation of a normal monsoon,” he said.
The RBI raised the growth projection to 7.2 per cent from an earlier estimate of 7 per cent for the current financial year. The government has mandated the RBI to ensure CPI inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
Markets perked up
Benchmark equity indices climbed in early trade on Friday, taking their rally to the third day running after RBI kept the repo rates unchanged.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 729.25 points to 75,803.76 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 221.80 points to 23,043.20
In the past two days, the BSE benchmark surged 2,995.46 points or 4.15 per cent after Tuesday’s massive rout. Regaining the 75,000 level, the BSE benchmark jumped 692.27 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at 75,074.51 on Thursday. The Nifty climbed 201.05 points or 0.89 per cent to 22,821.40.
(With PTI inputs)