RBI may continue pause on rate hike

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy committee (MPC) is likely to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% in the policy meeting scheduled between 6 and 8 June.

- Gopika Gopakumar

All 10 economists polled by Mint expect policy rates to remain unchanged. Most economists expect FY24 inflation to come in lower than RBI's projection of 5.2%.

"With uncertainty from weather-related risks (like El Nino) and resilient growth keeping core inflation a tad stickier than expected, we think RBI's inflation forecasts for the next 6-12 months are likely to be changed, albeit not materially," said Rahul Bajoria, chief India economist, Barclays. As such, Bajoria said, RBI may reduce its consumer price index (CPI) inflation projections closer to 5% from the current 5.2% average, with the bulk of the downgrades being made for first and second quarters of FY24.