India’s central bank keeps rates at 6.25 pc

AFP, MUMBAI:  India's central bank held interest rates in line with analysts' expectations yesterday, rebuffing the finance ministry's desire for a cut after India's growth slowed.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate -- the level at which it lends to commercial banks -- would remain at 6.25 per cent.
It was the fourth consecutive monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting where rates have been left unchanged. Forty-eight out of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted that the rate would be held despite India's growth slowing to 6.1 per cent in the recently ended fourth quarter.
The fall in GDP, reported last month, came after the government's shock move in November to ban most of the country's currency in 
circulation.
A rate cut encourages consumers to spend, usually causing a spur in growth, and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley called for a reduction in the rate this week owing to a sharp fall in inflation.
Consumer prices rose at just 2.99 per cent in April from a year earlier, a record low, but the RBI -- headed by governor Urjit Patel -- said it needed to wait and see whether those levels would remain or spike before moving on rates. 

Indias central bank keeps rates at 6.25 pc

AFP, MUMBAI: Indias central bank held interest rates in line with analysts expectations yesterday, rebuffing the finance ministrys desire for a cut after Indias growth slowed. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate -- the level at which it lends to commercial banks -- would remain at 6.25 per cent. It was the fourth consecutive monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting where rates have been left unchanged. Forty-eight out of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted that the rate would be held despite Indias growth slowing to 6.1 per cent in the recently ended fourth quarter. The fall in GDP, reported last month, came after the governments shock move in November to ban most of the countrys currency in circulation. A rate cut encourages consumers to spend, usually causing a spur in growth, and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley called for a reduction in the rate this week owing to a sharp fall in inflation. Consumer prices rose at just 2.99 per cent in April from a year earlier, a record low, but the RBI -- headed by governor Urjit Patel -- said it needed to wait and see whether those levels would remain or spike before moving on rates.