RBI to cut rates by mid-year - Reuters poll

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will change its stance to "neutral" and could cut interest rates in June at the latest, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

A month ago, economists predicted rate hike cycle would begin next quarter. The outlook, however, has flipped following RBI Governor Urjit Patel's sudden resignation on Dec. 10.

Key points (Source: Reuters)

RBI to keep repo rate on hold at 6.5 percent in Feb, change policy stance to 'neutral'.
RB to cut repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) by mid-year to 6.25 percent vs the previous forecast of a 25 bps rate hike.
India government 2018/19 fiscal deficit to be 3.5 percent of GDP; slightly higher than the government's target of 3.3 percent.
Indian economy to grow 7.3 percent in FY 2019/20 vs the previous forecast of 7.6 percent.
Uncertainty around the national election outcome is the biggest risk to the Indian economy.

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.

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