As Covid Cases Spiral Upwards, Will Reserve Bank Hold Rates Steady?

All economists surveyed by Bloomberg as of Monday expect the six-member Monetary Policy Committee to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the policy decision on Wednesday, at the end of a scheduled review of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that began on Monday, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and imposition of fresh restrictions to control the rampaging virus. India reported a record rise in coronavirus cases on April 5, becoming only the second country after the United States to register more than 1 lakh new cases in a day. Experts reckon that the Reserve Bank will maintain status quo on policy rates at the first bi-monthly monetary policy review for the new fiscal as the economy faces a renewed threat to growth from the pandemic. Maharashtra, which contributes about 15 per cent the country's overall GDP, has already announced a partial lockdown and Delhi has unveiled night curfew measures to curtail the second Covid19 wave. All economists surveyed by Bloomberg as of Monday expect the six-member Monetary Policy Committee to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent. In a Reuters poll, 65 of 66 economists surveyed said the RBI's monetary policy committee (MPC) will leave rates unchanged.