RBI cuts FY22 GDP forecast to 9.5%, holds rates; stance stays accommodative

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das says repo rate remains unchanged at 4 per cent, reverse repo rate at 3.35 per cent; MSF and bank rate kept unchanged at 4.25%

The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) maintained key interest rates for a sixth straight meeting on Friday while retaining an accommodative stance to revive the economy amid coronavirus pandemic-induced stress.

The repo rate and the reverse repo rate were kept unchanged at 4 per cent and 3.35 per cent, respectively, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das in a statement on Friday after a three-day meeting of the committee in Mumbai.

The central bank reduced its FY22 GDP forecast to 9.5 per cent from the earlier estimate of 10.5 per cent. It projected retail inflation in FY22 at 5.1