The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, will meet on December 5 and 6 for the Fifth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2017-18. In its October review, it had kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged on fears of rising inflation while lowering growth forecast to 6.7% for the current fiscal. “We expect a hawkish hold from the RBI..and policy rates to remain unchanged through 2018,” it said in a report. The retail inflation (Consumer Price Index) for October rose to a 7-month high of 3.58%. Credit rating firm ICRA has said RBI is likely to keep the key policy rate unchanged at 6% as it expects retail inflation to firm up in the coming months.

Source: Hindustan Times December 03, 2017 06:11 UTC