Page 3 - Interest Rates

ECB leaves interest rates unchanged at 2%, says still 'in a good place'

The ECB halved its key rate in the year to June but has been on hold at 2% since, arguing that the economy of the 20-country euro zone is in a "good place" even if more easing cannot be ruled out

Gold's record rally faces test as focus shifts to US data, Fed rate cuts

Gold prices, which scaled record highs in the domestic market last week, are likely to face a crucial test in the coming days with investors watching US macroeconomic data and geopolitical tensions for cues on the trajectory of the precious metal, analysts said. Upcoming US employment data, purchasing managers' index (PMI) readings from major economies, and speeches of several Federal Reserve officials will also be watched, they said. "In the week ahead, focus will be on the manufacturing/services PMI data from across regions and the US employment data. Festive demand in India and uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine peace deal as well as straining India-US relations, will also drive market sentiment," Pranav Mer, Vice President, EBG -- Commodity & Currency Research, JM Financial Services, said. On Friday, the most-traded gold futures for October contract soared to an all-time high of Rs 1,04,090 per 10 grams on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) before settling near record ...

GST rate rationalisation likely to drive growth in life and health policies

GST reduction is expected to enhance affordability and boost life and health insurance sales, especially among price-sensitive segments, though concerns over ITC impact persist

Bessent urges Federal Reserve to lower rates by 150 basis points or more

Fed policymakers kept their benchmark at a target range of 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent at their last policy meeting

Fada seeks RBI intervention on private banks delaying auto loan rate cuts

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations has sought the Reserve Bank of India's intervention against alleged delays by private banks in transmission of the interest rate cuts to automobile buyers. In a letter to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) also called for a review of private banks' repo-rate pass-through lags in the auto-loan portfolio and issue corrective directives to ensure uniform 100 per cent transmission to auto borrowers. "Under your leadership, the RBI has delivered the fastest series of policy-rate reductions in its history, a clear positive signal for the economy. Yet, this benefit is not fully visible in the auto-retail sector. While public-sector banks pass on repo-rate cuts to auto borrowers immediately, many private banks delay transmission on the pretext of internal cost-of-funds assessments," FADA Vice President Sai Giridhar said. In order to ensure that private banks also transmit the benefit of the

Trump suggests US Federal Reserve may be ready to cut interest rates

The two men met on Thursday when Trump made a rare visit to the US central bank to tour its ongoing renovation of two buildings at its headquarters in Washington

Global lenders may push back on RBI's offshore swap reporting plan

Complying with the Reserve Bank of India's directive could raise concerns about client confidentiality and lead to jurisdictional complications with other monetary authorities

Home loan interest must drop to 6% to revive sales: NAREDCO president

Realtors' body NAREDCO president G Hari Babu on Friday demanded that interest on home loans should come down to around 6 per cent to boost sales that have fallen during the first six months of this year across the top seven cities. He attributed the fall in housing sales to excess supply, sharp rises in prices of residential properties and global economic uncertainties. Real estate data analytics firm PropEquity has reported a 19 per cent drop in sales during the current April-June period and a 23 per cent fall in the preceding quarter across 9 major cities. Property consultant Anarock has estimated a 20 per cent fall in the latest June quarter in the top 7 cities. When asked about the reason for this fall, Hari Babu said, "Housing prices have increased significantly in the last three years, affecting the affordability of prospective customers." Salaries have not increased so much that it can match the appreciation in the housing prices, Hari Babu said on the sidelines of a confere

India's economy to hold top spot for growth, but weaknesses remain: Poll

Private sector spending is still trailing far behind, and analysts generally agree the economy is still failing to create enough quality jobs for its large young population

Markets hit 9-month closing highs on Fed rate cut hopes, weak dollar

The BSE Sensex ended the day at 83,756, a gain of 1,000 points or 1.2 per cent. The Nifty 50 finished the session at 25,549, up by 304 points or 1.2 per cent

S&P 500, Nasdaq near record highs as interest rate-cut bets creep up

The benchmark S&P 500 and tech-led Nasdaq were about 1% below their all-time peaks at Wednesday's close, following a truce in the Middle East conflict

HDFC Bank reduces MCLR by 10 bps across all loan tenures from 7 June

The MCLR for HDFC Bank now ranges from 8.90 to 9.10 per cent across tenors, following a 50 bps cut in the repo rate by the RBI's monetary policy committee last week

Interest rates on fresh deposits declined sharply by 35 bps in April

Fresh deposit rates declined more sharply than lending rates in April, as RBI's policy easing and surplus liquidity support rate transmission across the banking system

Stock market close highlights: Sensex tanks 872 points, Nifty at 24,683; all sectors end in red

Sensex Today | Stock Market Highlights on Tuesday, May 20, 2025: Among the broader basket, the Nifty Midcap100 and Smallcap100 indices ended down by 1.62 per cent and 0.94 per cent, respectively

US Fed holds rates steady: Key highlights | Jerome Powell | US Fed interest rates | US Economy

US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rates steady at 4.25% – 4.5%. Watch the video to know the key highlights from the US Federal Reserve's May meeting.

Bank of England cuts main interest rate by 0.25% amid US tariff uncertainty

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25 per cent amid concerns over the potential shock to global growth emanating from the tariff policies of the Trump administration. The decision Thursday was widely expected, though there was an array of opinion on the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, with two voting for a bigger half-point cut to four per cent, and two voting to hold rates. Bank Governor Andrew Bailey said inflationary pressures have continued to ease, paving the way for the fourth quarter-point rate cut since August. "The past few weeks have shown how unpredictable the global economy can be," he said. "That's why we need to stick to a gradual and careful approach to further rate cuts. Ensuring low and stable inflation is our top priority." The decision is the first since President Donald Trump made his tariff announcement in early April. Though most tariffs were paused for 90 days following the ensuing market turmoil, ...

RBI recognises FIMMDA as SRO for financial markets under new framework

FIMMDA has become the first financial market body to be recognised as a Self-Regulatory Organisation under the RBI's 2024 framework to enhance oversight and governance

Need to moderate public debt to save on interest outgo: DEA Secretary

India's elevated public debt, which results in fairly large interest outgo, needs to be moderated to get a rating upgrade from global rating agencies, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said on Friday. Speaking at ISAAC Centre for Public Policy Conference, he said India cannot remain fixated to a particular way in the midst of uncertainties. "We have to be agile and as the things are evolving, we cannot take the things for granted. And today I feel India is close to USD 4 trillion economy, we have enough resilience to find whatever is the rest of the world doing, we have to find our way and I'm hopeful that we can find out," he said. Observing that the current level of public debt continues to be elevated, he said, that needs to be moderated and that is a path for fiscal consolidation. "One has to remain committed and deliver on that for two reasons, and one of the reasons why credit rating agencies look more cautiously towards India is the elevated debt level. That our capacity

Space to cut rate, but cautious about a pre-set easing path: RBI MPC member

At this point in time, the balance between growth and inflation is clearly tilted towards the need to support growth. RBI's forecast for FY26 growth is 6.5 per cent, Bhattacharya said

Rate cut will boost private consumption, investment, says RBI Guv Malhotra

Benchmark interest rate reduction will bolster private consumption and support a revival in private corporate investment, Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra had opined while voting for a 25 basis points cut in repo rate along with other five members of the rate-setting panel earlier this month. Governor Malhotra-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had reduced the short-term lending rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent on April 9. A similar reduction was done in February. "When consumer price inflation is decisively around its target rate of 4 per cent and growth is still moderate and recovering, monetary policy needs to nurture domestic demand impulses to further increase the growth momentum. This is specially so amidst an uncertain global environment, which has amplified downside risks to growth," said the minutes of the MPC meeting released by the RBI on Wednesday. Malhotra had said it will bolster private consumption and support a revival in private corporate investment ..