India’s CB to announce key monetary policy tomorrow

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce its key monetary policy tomorrow (Wednesday), October 9th. The RBI will hold its three-day monetary policy meeting from Monday to Wednesday. All eyes are on the outcome of this meeting as the central bank has kept the repo rate unchanged for the last nine consecutive meetings.

Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation.

The repo rate, currently at 6.50 percent, has remained steady since the RBI adopted a cautious stance to balance inflation control and economic growth.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, is expected to weigh key factors like inflationary trends, global economic uncertainties, and domestic growth prospects. Inflation continues to be a challenge, particularly in food and fuel prices, which saw a surge earlier this year.

Market participants and analysts are closely monitoring this meeting for any forward guidance on future rate actions.

Many believe the central bank will continue its wait-and-watch approach, but a surprise rate hike cannot be entirely ruled out. On 18th September, the US Federal Reserve announced a steep 50 basis points interest cut in its review meeting.

US Fed announced the rate cuts after holding interest rates steady for eight straight meetings.