Mumbai, Feb 25: Chances of benchmark interest rate going up are “negligible” notwithstanding building up of inflationary pressure on account of geopolitical tensions, external member of RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Saugata Bhattacharya said on Wednesday.
Weather risks, rising metals prices and elevated crude oil amid geopolitical tensions will weigh on the consumer price inflation (CPI) going forward, Bhattacharya said.
” I see chances of a need to raise the repo rate as negligible in the near term,” he told PTI in an e-mailed interview.
Bhattacharya and the five other members of the MPC voted unanimously to keep the repurchase, or repo rate, at 5.25 per cent in the policy meet earlier this month. The RBI retained its neutral policy stance, signalling rates will stay low for some time.
In the interview, he said there are no signs of any overheating of the economy despite the multiple stimulus measures.
The RBI has cut rates by a total of 125 basis points since February 2025, marking its most aggressive easing cycle since 2019. It reduced rates by 25 basis points at its December meeting.
The central bank kept the rate unchanged in the August, October and February 2026 monetary policies.
On the inflation front, he said H1 FY27 is forecast to see CPI rising towards the 4 per cent target. (PTI)
