RBI may cut rates in March if inflation stay soft: experts

Indian wholesale price index (WPI) rose a slower-than-expected 6.55% in January from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday.

Below are some experts commenting on the inflation data.

Siddhartha Sanyal, Chief India Economist, Barclays Capital, Mumbai

"If this number stays soft going ahead and the GDP print also comes soft in February then together, there is a chance that RBI may cut rates in March than in April."

Jonathan Cavenagh, FX Strategist, Westpac, Singapore

"A positive result in terms of INR inflation -- market wants to see lower inflation outcome so that if the growth outlook deteriorates further then RBI can support growth by cutting rates.

"This is a further step back from the stagflation scare through Q4 last year when inflation continued to accelerate and growth faltered. Net this should be a positive for INR, but maybe not today with USD/Asia sentiment reasonably upbeat."