Expert views: February consumer inflation edges up to 5.37 pct y/y

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's annual consumer inflation nudged up to 5.37 percent in February compared with 5.11 percent in January, government data showed on Thursday, marking a third consecutive month of rising prices.

COMMENTARY

SIDDHARTH SANYAL, INDIA ECONOMIST, BARCLAYS, MUMBAI

"The CPI is more or less on expected lines.

"This reinforces projections that inflation will remain low and we expect the RBI to cut rates by 25 basis points by June and pause after that. The IIP (industrial output) number was a minor surprise. But still a 2.6 percent industrial growth does not mean a significant improvement in the economy and does not shift the needle in any way."

RUPA REGE NITSURE, GROUP CHIEF ECONOMIST, L&T FINANCIAL SERVICES, MUMBAI

"(On CPI) It is neither a negative nor a positive surprise. It is in line with expectations."

"They (RBI) have already reduced it (repo rate) twice this year so far and I feel they will frontload the reductions.

"Another 25 basis points (cut) may happen in April but after that they will go for a pause because many uncertainties will crop up

"We may not see material change in the economic scenario before the festive season but monsoon will be a very crucial event to watch. Also the steep hikes in excise duty and service tax rates are going to be inflationary.

A. PRASANNA, ECONOMIST, ICICI SECURITIES PRIMARY DEALERSHIP LTD, MUMBAI

"CPI is broadly in line with expectations. Food inflation seems to be bit higher than what we anticipated. But that does not change the trajectory of overall inflation going ahead and we think the RBI's goal of 6 percent by January will be achieved.

"We still expect RBI to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points by June before pausing. It is better not to come to conclusion on IIP (industrial output) data as this data will undergo a change in a few months."

(Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury and Shailaja Sharma; Editing by Rafael Nam)