Expert views: RBI keeps policy rate on hold

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its repo rate on hold at 6.25 percent for a second straight policy meeting, opting to wait for more clarity on inflation trends and on how a radical crackdown on "black money" is impacting economic growth.

The RBI's monetary policy committee on Wednesday voted 6-0, its third unanimous decision in a row since being established in September.

COMMENTARY:

SAMRAT DASGUPTA, CEO, ESQUIRE CAPITAL INVESTMENT ADVISORS:

"The market is already pushing the rates down. The prospect of U.S. raising interest rates is also there on the horizon. So investors want to see how the rate cycle in the U.S. phases out. In India, because of excess liquidity, the rates have anyway come down."

"Because the markets have already pushed the rates down, RBI pushing it by 25 basis points could not have made much of a difference."

RUPA REGE NITSURE, GROUP CHIEF ECONOMIST, L&T FINANCIAL:

"It's quite disappointing that RBI has come out with a strongly hawkish policy at a time when growth slowdown has become very acute in the aftermath of demonetisation. Somehow, RBI has not perceived demonetisation as disinflationary, unlike the GOI Economic Survey."

"Shifting policy stance from accommodative to neutral at a time when the government is talking about stimulus doesn't make sense."

(Reporting by Bengaluru and Mumbai newsrooms; Editing by Euan Rocha)