rbi-may-have-left-repo-rate-unchanged-but-doors-open-for-more-cuts-ahead
Were you disappointed that the Reserve Bank of India left the interest rate unchanged on Wednesday? Well, there are clear signals that there will be at least one more cut ahead, and with the ongoing monetary policy transmission, lending rates could well head further down in the coming months. Having reduced the repo rate by 100 basis points (1 per cent) in 2025, the RBI’s monetary policy committee left the repo rate on hold at 5.50 per cent for the second consecutive MPC meeting. The decision to maintain the status quo was unanimous, but there are clear indications that there is room for more rate cuts in the future. “The current macroeconomic conditions and the outlook opened up policy space for further supporting growth,” the RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said. The MPC has comfort on the inflation front, which has turned “benign” and remains well below the 4 per cent target. On the other hand, while domestic growth levers remain strong, and the GDP growth forecast has been revised upwards to 6.8 per cent from 6.5 per cent, after a strong April-June quarter (7.8 per cent), it noted that it continues to be “below our aspirations.” “Even though the growth projection for the financial year 2025-26 is being revised upwards, the forward-looking projections for the third quarter and beyond are expected to be slightly lower than projected earlier, primarily due to tariff-related developments, despite being partially offset by the impetus provided by the rationalisation of GST rates,” the MPC statement read.