RBI monetary policy meeting: Date, schedule, time, and expectations from Governor Shaktikanta Das

Amid expectations that the central bank will keep the benchmark interest rates unchanged, the Reserve Bank's rate-setting monetary policy panel will begin deliberations in the coming week. Headed by Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet for three days (8-10 August) and the decision would be announced on 10 August at 10 am by the Governor. The central bank has kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% since February this year.

RBI Monetary Policy Date And Time 

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the MPC's decision on Thursday, August 10 at 10 am while the policy press conference will be telecast at 12 noon. You can catch the live telecast of the RBI Monetary Policy announcement on RBI's YouTube channel.

Expectations from RBI 

“We expect the RBI to maintain a cautious and hawkish stance in its upcoming monetary policy meeting. The rise in inflation is also causing a rise in food prices, specifically in the price of vegetables in July. In June, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed an inflation rate of 4.81%. Similarly, core inflation in June was lower at 5.1% than 5.2% in May. As a result, CPI is likely to accelerate in the next few months because the erratic effects of monsoon has affected the farmers. Floods in the northwest and insufficient precipitation in the south and east have slowed harvesting. The market for cereals is actually on the rise, both domestically and internationally. In particular, the latter category is impacted by geopolitical developments such as the Black Sea grain trade agreement. Furthermore, El Nino-related weather uncertainties exist, elevating the possibility of a delayed start to the policy easing cycle. Subsequently, the surprise surge in retail inflation for June has pushed the rate cut possibilities to the next financial year,” said Mahesh Agarwal National Head Wealth at AUM Capital

Hence, we expect RBI to keep the policy rates and stance unchanged in the forthcoming policy, he added. 

“We do expect a status quo decision by the MPC this time. Inflation while being lower than 5% in June is expected to come closer to 6% in July. The prices of vegetables as well as pulses will continue to exert upward pressure on food inflation. With GDP growth in the first quarter is expected to be closer to 8% in the first quarter thus indicating stability. There is, hence, no compelling reason to spur growth presently. Hence repo rate will remain unchanged till the end of the calendar year. Besides, Fed has indicated a possible hike in the future and treasury yields have moved up. Further, with liquidity being comfortable stance of withdrawal of accommodation will remain. We expect no change in inflation and GDP forecasts.” said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda. 

“The macro-economic fundamentals of the country are strong and the economy is performing well. The Indian real estate market has seen a strong rebound in in the recent past driven primarily by end-users and we see this up-cycle continuing in 2023. Also, the strong fundamentals for housing demand will keep the momentum upward for realty sales where buyers are carefully filtering out projects and looking for the right product mix in terms of affordability, accessibility, and quality of living. Hence, we expect a continuation of existing policy rates through 2023 and undoubtedly, a further reduction in interest rates in the near future would be preferred to bolster overall market confidence and make it more enticing for home buyers," said Ramani Sastri, Chairman and MD, Sterling Developers.

Overall, we are optimistic that the government would shape its policy actions to promote demand even further and incentivise people to buy more properties, as the sector is the primary contributor to economic growth, he added