Page 9 - Interest Rates

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

Monetary policy: RBI likely to hold rates for sixth time, shows BS poll

Focus on liquidity; few expect neutral stance

RBI interest rate decision, global trends to dictate stock mkts: Analysts

Stock markets will be driven by quarterly earnings by index majors, global trends and the RBI's interest rate decision this week after digesting news on budget proposals and US Federal policy outcome, say analysts. The trading activity of foreign investors and the movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude would also dictate trends in equities. "On the domestic front, the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting is scheduled from February 6-8. The Q3 quarterly results season will continue to remain in focus. Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Nestle, Lupin and Tata Power will announce their results this week," said Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd. Market participants will be keeping an eye on the movement of the rupee against the dollar and crude oil prices, Gour said. Investments by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) will also be monitored, he added. "With the US Fed and interim Budget now behind, all eyes w

Bank of England keeps rates unchanged at 5.25%, may cut if inflation falls

The pound erased earlier losses and investors trimmed bets on the extent of Bank Rate cuts but still saw four reductions in 2024, a view that Bailey said he did not want to challenge

Canada braces for possible wave of business bankruptcies amid slowdown

There were about 1.2 million small businesses with employees in Canada in 2021 and contributing over a third to the country's gross domestic product, according to the latest official data

Euro zone yields drop as markets price in ECB interest rate cut in April

Some analysts reckoned that soft economic growth and inflation figures from the euro zone, due from Wednesday, could add to expectations for more ECB monetary easing

ECB's next move is 'a cut' but policymakers spar on timing: Report

The ECB kept its key rate unchanged at a record high 4% last Thursday but sounded confident that inflation was coming under control

American Express misses Q4 profit estimates on higher loan loss provisions

Eleven rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve have made borrowing expensive and increased risks of more defaults, especially as credit card debt is typically costlier than other loans

No hint of cuts as ECB keeps rates unchanged at record-high of 4%

Investors are betting that the ECB is getting it wrong on both growth and inflation and will be forced to U-turn and deliver five rate cuts in rapid succession from early spring

RBI 'mute spectator', allowing banks to charge high interest rates: HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the Reserve Bank of India has been a "mute spectator" while banks are imposing arbitrarily high interest rates on customers despite guidelines issued by the banking regulator. The observation was made by a bench comprising Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar while disposing of a petition filed by Manmeet Singh who had availed of a loan of Rs 9 lakh from a private bank. "Surprisingly, RBI had been issuing guidelines but has done nothing for the implementation of the same. They have just been a mute spectator allowing the banks to charge arbitrarily a very high rate of interest," the court observed. On the RBI's responsibility as the banking regulator in the country, the court said, "Even if the benefit of doubt is given to the banks that they are free to charge the interest rate but it is duty of the RBI to see that the customers are not inconvenienced by huge rate of interest charged by the banks." The petitioner had obtain