Page 9 - Interest Rates

Interest rates on small savings schemes remain unchanged for Q1FY25

The government on Friday left the interest rates unchanged on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of the next fiscal, beginning April 1, 2024. A notification in this regard has been issued by the finance ministry. "The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of FY 2024-25, starting from April 1, 2024, and ending on June 30, 2024, shall remain unchanged from those notified for the fourth quarter (January 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024) of FY 2023-24," the notification said. The deposit under the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme will attract an interest rate of 8.2 per cent, while the rate on a three-year term deposit remains at 7.1 per cent. The interest rates for popular PPF and savings deposits too have been retained at 7.1 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. The interest rate on the Kisan Vikas Patra will be 7.5 per cent, and the investments will mature in 115 months. The interest rate on the National Savings Certificate (NSC) will remai

ECB keeps rate unchanged at 4%, may cut in June with 2% inflation in sight

The ECB's latest quarterly outlook offered strong encouragement, putting inflation at 2.3% this year and revising the 2025 forecast down to 2%. For 2026, it's still seen at 1.9%

Federal Reserve in no rush to cut interest rates, says Jerome Powell

In prepared testimony to a House panel Wednesday, the Fed chief said it will likely be appropriate to begin lower borrowing costs "at some point this year," but made clear they're not ready yet

'Private credit returns will be pressured by banks as competition rises'

As banks compete harder to win big deals, recent private credit loans have priced at some of the tightest spreads on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg

Rising interest rates prompting more people to go in for term deposits

Their share in total deposits increased to 20.6 per cent in December 2023 from 20.2 per cent in September 2023

US Fed's Jerome Powell to double down on 'no rush to cut' message

They're expected to press the Fed chief on why officials are keeping borrowing costs so high, risking damage to the economy, when they've made so much progress on inflation

World economy has growing chance of pulling off soft landing: G20

The statement reflects a relatively upbeat view of a global economy that's struggled in recent years to overcome the impact of the pandemic, soaring inflation and a sharp increase in interest rates

Debt-addicted cos turn towards selling equity as interest costs skyrocket

Late last year, the chief financial officer at Myriad Genetics Inc. took a different tack, one the DNA-testing company hadn't seriously considered in over 16 years - selling shares

FPI selling, liquidity deficit tightening financial conditions: CRISIL

Financial conditions have tightened the economy with liquidity going into a deeper deficit putting upward pressure on short-term rates, according to a research report by CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics. The report released during the month also said that foreign portfolio investors turned net sellers further aggravating the tight liquidity conditions. With tightening of the liquidity, the transmission of interest rates improved across lending and deposit rates in January. However, the cumulative rise in most deposit and lending rates remained lower than the 250 basis points of repo rate increase by the RBI since May 2022, the report said. This incomplete transmission of monetary policy prompted the Reserve Bank of India to keep the interest rates unchanged, the research body said in the report. "We believe that the central bank will be active in liquidity management and adopt regulatory measures to prevent excesses in credit growth. We foresee the RBI cutting rates from Ju

Goldman Sachs pushes BoE interest rate-cut forecast to June from May

Despite data showing signs of cooling in inflation, the central bank remains cautious in its approach due to persistent wage increases and a tight labor market

Piyush Goyal confident of interest rate cut by RBI in coming months

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday exuded confidence that the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates as inflation is under control. The RBI has been maintaining the benchmark interest rate at an elevated level of 6.5 per cent since February 2023. Goyal said that the economic fundamentals of the country are strong and inflation is under check. He said that the average inflation of 10 years in India is about 5 to 5.5 per cent. It was the best-performing decade and because of that, the interest rate came down "dramatically" and the central bank was strengthened and had the ability to bring down the interest rate. "Of-course in the last year and a half, post Ukraine-crisis, interest rates have again gone up by 250 basis points. But now that inflation is pretty much in control, I suspect we will soon see the reversal of the rate hikes starting in India, whether it happens in the next or the second monetary policy from now. I think it's only a matter of time," Goyal ...

Russian central bank holds interest rate at 16% after months of tightening

Russia's domestic demand was still outstripping production capacity, the bank said, with labour shortages still the key constraint on expanding the output of goods and services

Overnight index swap rates hint at late start to rate cuts: Traders

India's OIS market has seen 'paying pressure', with the impact being amplified amid unwinding of an earlier 'received position' by a large private bank, according to traders

ECB needs to start cutting interest rates soon, says Fabio Panetta

"Macroeconomic conditions suggest that disinflation is at an advanced stage, and progress toward the 2% target continues to be rapid," he said on Saturday at the annual Assiom Forex event in Genoa

Bankers laud RBI's step to maintain status quo on rates as balanced policy

Bankers on Thursday welcomed the Reserve Bank of India's decision to maintain status quo on rates as a 'balanced' one which keeps in mind both the inflation challenge as well as the growth needs of the economy. "The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to hold rates and stance was expected but the set of regulatory decisions holds out a pragmatic and steadfast approach in the quest for digital robustness, customer centricity and price discovery," SBI's chairman Dinesh Khara said. State-owned Indian Bank's chief S L Jain welcomed the policy announcement as a balanced call. "By keeping interest rates unchanged and sticking to its current policy stance, MPC aims to strike a balance between supporting economic growth and managing inflationary pressures. "This approach is essential in navigating the complex and changing global economic landscape, ensuring that the economy remains resilient and adaptable to future challenges," Jain added. Foreign lender Standard Chartered Bank's ..

Builders seek interest rate cut in RBI's next meet to boost housing demand

Realtors on Thursday demanded that the RBI should consider reducing the repo rate in its next monetary policy review meeting to boost sales of residential properties, while welcoming stability in the interest rate regime. Real estate developers and consultants feel that the strong momentum in the housing market will continue with the RBI deciding to keep the key policy rate unchanged. The RBI decided to keep the policy rate unchanged for the sixth time in a row in view of global uncertainty and the need to bring down retail inflation to 4 per cent. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das in his statement said the buoyant demand for residential housing, coupled with increased thrust on government capex, is expected to propel construction activity. Realtors' apex body CREDAI President Boman Irani said the high GDP growth indicates that the "Indian economy is stable with relatively healthy macro-economic indicators and can absorb any impact of a repo rate cut, if announced, in the next financial

Rupee settles on flat note at 82.96 after RBI monetary policy decision

The rupee settled on a flat note at 82.96 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, after the Reserve Bank decided to keep the key policy rate unchanged for the sixth time in a row to maintain a tight vigil on inflation. Forex traders said a negative trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.94 against the dollar and moved in a narrow range and settled for the day at 82.96 against the American currency, as the central bank retained the repo rate at 6.5 pc for the sixth consecutive time. During the day, the rupee touched an intraday high of 82.89 and a low of 83 against the US dollar. On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated 9 paise to close at 82.96 against the dollar. The Indian rupee remained flat as RBI maintained status quo in its monetary policy for the sixth consecutive time and left Repo Rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, in line with street expectations. The central bank revised FY24 GDP projections

Stock markets settle flat in volatile trade ahead of RBI's rate decision

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed flat in a volatile trade on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of RBI's interest rate decision on Thursday. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 34.09 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 72,152. During the day, it hit a high of 72,559.21 and a low of 71,938.22. The Nifty ended marginally up by 1.10 points or 0.01 per cent to 21,930.50. IT shares TCS, Infosys and Tech Mahindra declined due to profit taking offsetting gains from select banking and pharma shares. "The domestic market exhibited cautious range-bound movement, despite robust PMI data and favourable global cues ahead of RBI policy meet. While no change in stance is anticipated, the RBI's commentary on any hints regarding potential rate cuts and improvements in liquidity will be closely monitored," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said. Among the Sensex firms, State Bank of India rose the most by 3.78 per cent after the bank announced th

US Federal Reserve wary of cutting interest rates too soon: Jerome Powell

Treasuries fell across all maturities at the open in Asia as Powell's comments underscored the likelihood that bond investors had overshot in pricing for rapid rate cuts

Too soon to declare victory over inflation: OECD tells central banks

Global economic growth is proving more resilient and inflation in the US and Europe is easing faster than the organization expected in its November outlook