Search Result for : Cpi

The Dollar Business Bureau The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its sixth bimonthly Monetary Policy Committee meeting, on Wednesday kept the repo rate unchanged at 6%, while hinting on tight monetary conditions due to rising inflation risks. The Bank also increased the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation forecast for March-end to 5.1% and estimated that inflation would be in the range of 5.1-5.6% in the first six months of the next fiscal. “On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6%,” RBI said in a statement. “Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 5.75%, and ...

The Dollar Business Bureau The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised its retail inflation forecast to 4.2-4.6% for the second half of 2017-18 owing to the firming international prices of oil and uncertainty on the farm output of the kharif crop. In August, in its last monetary policy review, the Central Bank had predicted the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation to be between 4-4.5% in the second half of current fiscal. “The inflation path for the rest of 2017-18 is expected to be shaped by several factors," the bank said in its fourth bi-monthly monetary policy statement 2017-18. As it sees inflation risks, the monetary policy committee (MPC) of RBI also kept the key lending rates – ...

The Dollar Business Bureau  The country’s retail inflation declined sharply to 2.99% in April against the 3.89% in March, on account of lower prices of food items such as vegetables and pulses that recorded a deflationary trend.  In April 2016, the consumer price index (CPI) inflation was at 5.47%.  Pulses and products prices witnessed a sharp decline in April, with a deflation of 15.94%, whereas prices of vegetables fell by 8.59%. In March, the two items recorded a deflation of 12.42 and 7.24%.  The fuel and light segment recorded an inflation of 6.13% in April, higher as compared to 5.56% in March.  Fruit prices grew at 3.78% in April, lower than 9.35% in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation ...

By Abin Daya In line with our expectations, CPI inflation inched up in March, though WPI inflation eased a bit. Considering the significant gap between retail and wholesale inflation even now, it remains to be seen whether the former will move up further, despite wholesale inflation coming down. Indian steel industry seems to have got its mojo back in 2016, and this is expected to continue for the next two years. Steel production and consumption grew by 7.4% and 4.1% respectively, highest amongst all major producers and consumers. We give you a snapshot of what the World Steel Association is forecasting for 2017 and 2018. Retail inflation In the weekly update for week 11, we had mentioned that we expect CPI inflation to move ...

By Abin Daya The US Fed hiked interest rates by 25 bps this week, and also signalled that they would be increasing rates at least twice more this year. The Fed rate hike was on expected lines, and there were more than enough signals from officials about the intended decision. They are feeling good about the economic growth, and are worried more about inflation than about growth. However, whether all those expectations will come to pass, we have to wait and see. Closer home, inflation concerns are raising their head again and this will impact monetary policy going forward. The general perception is that RBI will hold the rates at the current level in the next monetary policy announcement in April. Again, need ...

PTI Index of Industrial Production (IIP) will remain weak and may only grow up to 0.5% during January, on account of various constraints, including subdued domestic demand and an uncertain external demand, according to Dun & Bradstreet's latest economic forecast. "Industrial sector faces constraints from subdued domestic demand and weak, uncertain external demand on one hand and financing constraints, rising input prices and stalled projects on the other hand," D&B said in a report. "We expect Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to remain weak and grow by only 0.0% - 0.5% during January 2017," it added. Besides, the report said firming up of global commodity prices as well as depreciation of the rupee poses significant upward risk to inflation. D&B estimates ...

The Dollar Business Bureau The producer price inflation of China has increased more than what is estimated in the month of January to near 6-year high on account of a pick-up in steel prices and other raw material prices, adding to estimates that world manufacturing activity is gaining momentum.  China’s consumer inflation also increased more than expected to around three-year high, according to a data released on Tuesday.  Much of the increase in consumer prices was due to higher prices of food and transportation in the wake of a long holiday for Lunar New Year, as per the National Bureau of Statistics.  But mounting pressures of prices in China and several other developed countries have sparked speculations of a stricter monetary policy in 2017, ...

PTI Impacted by note ban, retail inflation fell to multi-year low of 3.17 per cent in January and may prompt the Reserve Bank to have a re-look at its hawkish monetary stance in the next policy due in April. Retail inflation has declined because of the impact of cash crunch following demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes with effect from November 9, 2016, experts said. In its policy last week, RBI retained the benchmark interest rate and changed the stance from 'accommodative' to 'neutral', indicating that there won't be any rate cut in near term. It may however have to review its policy stance in the wake of retail inflation touching multi-year low in January. ...