India's central bank maintained its benchmark repo rate at 7.5 percent, as expected, and said it would maintain an accommodative stance "but monetary policy actions will be conditioned by incoming data."
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has surprised financial markets twice this year by cutting its rate by a total of 50 basis points outside its regularly scheduled policy reviews, said inflation so far this year had developed as projected and should moderate to around 4 percent by August before firming up to reach 5.8 percent by the end of the year.
While India is facing upside risks to inflation - including less-than-normal monsoon, larger-than-expected administered prices, faster closing of the output gap and higher commodity prices - the RBI said these upside risks were being offset by the global trend toward deflation and disinflation, soft outlook for commodity prices and the slack in the domestic economy.
The outlook for India's economy is still improving, the RBI said, with output growth for the current 2015-16 fiscal year projected at 7.8 percent, up from 7.5 percent in the 2014-15 year, but with a downward bias due to the still subdued indicators of economic activity.
The RBI laid out a series of events that will impact the pace of future policy easing, including the transmission of its "front-loaded rate reductions in January and February" by commercial banks to their lending rates, changes to food prices and any threat to the disinflation that is underway, an acceleration of policy efforts to unclog the supply chain so power and land can be made available, reducing the pipeline of stalled investment projects, along with the U.S. Federal Reserve's moves toward normalizing its policy stance.
India's consumer price inflation rate rose slightly to 5.37 percent in February from 5.19 percent in January. Under its new framework from February, the RBI aims at inflation of 6.0 percent by January 2016 and 4 percent by the end of 2017-18.
The Reserve Bank of India issued the following statement, not including charts:
Domestic economic activity is likely to have strengthened in Q4. Second advance estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture suggest that the contraction in food grains production in 2014-15 may turn out to be less than earlier anticipated. However, the adverse impact of unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March is still unfolding. Initial estimates indicate that as much as 17 per cent of the sown area under the rabi crop may have been affected though the precise extent of the damage remains to be determined. The growth in allied activities is likely to remain strong as in the recent past, though it remains to be seen whether it will fully compensate the decline in food grains output.
The industrial sector, and in particular, manufacturing appears to be regaining momentum, with the growth of production in positive territory for three consecutive months till January. While basic goods production has been expanding steadily since November 2013, capital goods output has been relatively lumpy and volatile, and more positive readings are needed to be confident about a durable pick-up in investment demand. The persisting contraction in consumer durables production for over two years could be reflecting the underlying weakness in consumption demand as well as higher imports.
Mixed signals are coming from the service sector. While the national accounts statistics seem to suggest that consumption demand for services is robust relative to the demand for goods, and purchasing managers perceive activity expanding on new orders, various coincident indicators of services sector activity including railway and port traffic, domestic and international passenger traffic, international freight traffic, tourist arrivals, motorcycle and tractor sales as well as bank credit and deposit growth remain subdued.
Retail inflation measured by the year-on-year changes in the revised consumer price index (CPI) firmed up for the third successive month in February as favourable base effects dissipated, despite the price index remaining virtually flat since December. The still elevated levels of prices of protein-rich items such as pulses, meat, fish and milk kept food inflation from following the seasonal decline in prices of vegetables and fruits. The prices of items such as sugar and edible oil moderated in consonance with the downturn in global commodity prices. Fuel inflation edged up for the second month in a row due to the increase in prices of electricity and firewood.
Inflation excluding food and fuel fell successively in the nine months till February. A large part of this disinflation has been on account of the slump in international crude oil prices feeding through into domestic prices of petrol and diesel that are included under the category transport and communication. Inflation in respect of housing has also eased in the revised CPI, in part reflecting methodological and coverage improvements. Furthermore, upside pressures affecting prices of services such as education, health and other services have also fallen on account of weak demand conditions. The rate of growth of rural wages has come off substantially from the double digit levels that prevailed up to November 2013. Firms are also reporting a substantial easing of input price pressures, barring the most recent purchasing manager surveys. Reflecting past disinflation, inflation expectations of households are in single digits, although they too exhibit some firming up in Q4 in response to the turning up of food and fuel inflation during January-February.
Exports of services, particularly, software and travel have provided a silver lining and
have helped to hold down the current account deficit (CAD) which has narrowed in Q3. This
improvement has likely extended into Q4. As a result, capital inflows – mainly portfolio flows
into domestic debt and equity markets and foreign direct investment – have exceeded the
external financing requirement and enabled accretion to the foreign exchange reserves
which reached an all-time peak of US$ 343 billion as on April 3, 2015. These reserves,
including forward purchases that will be delivered over the next few months, provide some
buffer against potential capital outflows when monetary policy normalisation in AEs
commences. Good macroeconomic policy will, of course, be the critical first line of defence in
retaining investor confidence.
Policy Stance and Rationale
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has surprised financial markets twice this year by cutting its rate by a total of 50 basis points outside its regularly scheduled policy reviews, said inflation so far this year had developed as projected and should moderate to around 4 percent by August before firming up to reach 5.8 percent by the end of the year.
While India is facing upside risks to inflation - including less-than-normal monsoon, larger-than-expected administered prices, faster closing of the output gap and higher commodity prices - the RBI said these upside risks were being offset by the global trend toward deflation and disinflation, soft outlook for commodity prices and the slack in the domestic economy.
The outlook for India's economy is still improving, the RBI said, with output growth for the current 2015-16 fiscal year projected at 7.8 percent, up from 7.5 percent in the 2014-15 year, but with a downward bias due to the still subdued indicators of economic activity.
The RBI laid out a series of events that will impact the pace of future policy easing, including the transmission of its "front-loaded rate reductions in January and February" by commercial banks to their lending rates, changes to food prices and any threat to the disinflation that is underway, an acceleration of policy efforts to unclog the supply chain so power and land can be made available, reducing the pipeline of stalled investment projects, along with the U.S. Federal Reserve's moves toward normalizing its policy stance.
India's consumer price inflation rate rose slightly to 5.37 percent in February from 5.19 percent in January. Under its new framework from February, the RBI aims at inflation of 6.0 percent by January 2016 and 4 percent by the end of 2017-18.
The Reserve Bank of India issued the following statement, not including charts:
"First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2015-16
Monetary and Liquidity Measures
-
AssessmentOn the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, it has been decided to:
-
keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at
7.5 per cent;
-
keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 per cent of
net demand and time liability (NDTL); and
-
continue to provide liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bank-wise
NDTL at the LAF repo rate and liquidity under 7-day and 14-day term repos of up to
0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions; and
-
continue with daily variable rate repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity.
Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged at 6.5 per cent,
and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 8.5 per cent.
Since 2014-15’s sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement of February, a moderate and uneven global recovery is emerging, with economies being buffeted (or supported) by currency fluctuations and commodity prices. Growth in the United States is likely to have been weak in the first quarter of calendar 2015, partly because of US dollar appreciation, but is expected to strengthen. The Euro area has started to show modest improvement, supported by a boost to demand from lower crude prices and the depreciation of the euro as well as easing financial and credit conditions following the commencement of quantitative easing. With the waning of the impact of the consumption tax increase, growth turned positive in Japan in Q4 of 2014 and consumer confidence and exports picked up. However, retail sales and industrial production contracted, indicating that the outlook is still weak. Growth continues to slow in China amidst financial fragilities and macroeconomic imbalances. This will have regional and global ramifications, although the softness in international commodity prices is providing some offset for net importers while adversely impacting net exporters. Global growth is likely to firm up through 2015 and 2016, supported by stronger recovery in the advanced economies (AEs) and soft energy prices. Downside risks mainly emanate from the slowdown in China, geopolitical risks surrounding oil prices and the uneven effects of currency and commodity price movements.
Global financial markets have been boosted by expectations of normalisation of US monetary policy being pushed back into late 2015, monetary policy stances turning highly accommodative in other AEs, and several emerging market economies (EMEs) easing policy rates to address growth concerns. Long-term yields have declined to all-time lows on weak inflation expectations, compression of term premiums and the safe haven allure of US Treasuries. Ultra low interest rates and reduction in risk premia have raised most asset prices to record highs, and have pushed investors to riskier assets such as equity and lower rated debt instruments. Exchange rates have experienced large and volatile movements, with the US dollar strengthening against most currencies. Among EMEs, markets have tended to discriminate against those with relatively weaker fundamentals and/or oil exporters. Nevertheless, with high portfolio flows to EMEs, risks from sudden shifts in market sentiment have increased. -
keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at
7.5 per cent;
Domestic economic activity is likely to have strengthened in Q4. Second advance estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture suggest that the contraction in food grains production in 2014-15 may turn out to be less than earlier anticipated. However, the adverse impact of unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March is still unfolding. Initial estimates indicate that as much as 17 per cent of the sown area under the rabi crop may have been affected though the precise extent of the damage remains to be determined. The growth in allied activities is likely to remain strong as in the recent past, though it remains to be seen whether it will fully compensate the decline in food grains output.
The industrial sector, and in particular, manufacturing appears to be regaining momentum, with the growth of production in positive territory for three consecutive months till January. While basic goods production has been expanding steadily since November 2013, capital goods output has been relatively lumpy and volatile, and more positive readings are needed to be confident about a durable pick-up in investment demand. The persisting contraction in consumer durables production for over two years could be reflecting the underlying weakness in consumption demand as well as higher imports.
Mixed signals are coming from the service sector. While the national accounts statistics seem to suggest that consumption demand for services is robust relative to the demand for goods, and purchasing managers perceive activity expanding on new orders, various coincident indicators of services sector activity including railway and port traffic, domestic and international passenger traffic, international freight traffic, tourist arrivals, motorcycle and tractor sales as well as bank credit and deposit growth remain subdued.
Retail inflation measured by the year-on-year changes in the revised consumer price index (CPI) firmed up for the third successive month in February as favourable base effects dissipated, despite the price index remaining virtually flat since December. The still elevated levels of prices of protein-rich items such as pulses, meat, fish and milk kept food inflation from following the seasonal decline in prices of vegetables and fruits. The prices of items such as sugar and edible oil moderated in consonance with the downturn in global commodity prices. Fuel inflation edged up for the second month in a row due to the increase in prices of electricity and firewood.
Inflation excluding food and fuel fell successively in the nine months till February. A large part of this disinflation has been on account of the slump in international crude oil prices feeding through into domestic prices of petrol and diesel that are included under the category transport and communication. Inflation in respect of housing has also eased in the revised CPI, in part reflecting methodological and coverage improvements. Furthermore, upside pressures affecting prices of services such as education, health and other services have also fallen on account of weak demand conditions. The rate of growth of rural wages has come off substantially from the double digit levels that prevailed up to November 2013. Firms are also reporting a substantial easing of input price pressures, barring the most recent purchasing manager surveys. Reflecting past disinflation, inflation expectations of households are in single digits, although they too exhibit some firming up in Q4 in response to the turning up of food and fuel inflation during January-February.
Since the shift in the monetary policy stance in January towards accommodation, the
Reserve Bank has moved to ensure comfortable liquidity conditions through pro-active
liquidity management, including fine-tuning operations on week days and access to the MSF
and fixed rate reverse repo on Saturdays. This has helped to smooth the liquidity frictions
that characterise events such as advance tax payments and balance sheet dates, keeping
the money market rates anchored to the repo rate. In order to alleviate the pressures that
build up in March on account of frictional factors, the Reserve Bank augmented its liquidity
management instruments by engaging in repos of maturities ranging from 8 to 28 days
cumulating to an outstanding amount of `1430 billion (including support from the MSF of
`416 billion) at end-March in addition to regular 14-day term repo auctions and fixed rate
overnight repos. The availability of liquidity can be gauged from the fact that in March,
average daily liquidity returned by market participations through variable/fixed rate reverse
repos amounted to `293 billion.
Export performance has been progressively weakening and contraction set in on both non-oil and petroleum product exports since December 2014. Fragile external demand conditions and the softness in international commodity prices have taken a heavy toll, as in several other EMEs in Asia. In particular, price realisations have been eroded, despite export volumes going up. With the Indian rupee gaining in real effective terms, export margins are coming under pressure for those exporters without substantial imported inputs. Net terms of trade gains and compression in imports of petroleum products have narrowed the trade deficit in the last three months to its lowest level since 2009-10. Gold imports remained contained; although non-oil non-gold imports grew at a modest pace in these months, they may be reflecting substitution effects in view of the sluggishness in domestic manufacturing.
Export performance has been progressively weakening and contraction set in on both non-oil and petroleum product exports since December 2014. Fragile external demand conditions and the softness in international commodity prices have taken a heavy toll, as in several other EMEs in Asia. In particular, price realisations have been eroded, despite export volumes going up. With the Indian rupee gaining in real effective terms, export margins are coming under pressure for those exporters without substantial imported inputs. Net terms of trade gains and compression in imports of petroleum products have narrowed the trade deficit in the last three months to its lowest level since 2009-10. Gold imports remained contained; although non-oil non-gold imports grew at a modest pace in these months, they may be reflecting substitution effects in view of the sluggishness in domestic manufacturing.
Policy Stance and Rationale
In 2015 so far, the inflation path has evolved along the projected path after a sizable
undershoot of the January 2015 target. CPI inflation is projected at its current levels in the
first quarter of 2015-16, moderating thereafter to around 4 per cent by August but firming up
to reach 5.8 per cent by the end of the year (Chart 1). There are upside risks to the central
projection emanating from possible intensification of el niño conditions leading to a less than
normal monsoon; large deviations in vegetable and fruit prices from their regular seasonal
patterns, given unseasonal rains; larger than anticipated administered price revisions; faster
closing of the output gap; geo-political developments leading to hardening of global
commodity prices; and spillover from external developments through exchange rate and
asset price channels. However, at this juncture, these upside risks appear to be offset by downsides originating from global deflationary/disinflationary tendencies, the still soft outlook
on global commodity prices; and slack in the domestic economy.
Transmission of policy rates to lending rates has not taken place so far despite weak
credit off take and the front loading of two rate cuts. With little transmission, and the
possibility that incoming data will provide more clarity on the balance of risks on inflation, the
Reserve Bank will maintain status quo in its monetary policy stance in this review.
The Monetary Policy Framework Agreement signed by the Government of India and
the Reserve Bank in February 2015 will shape the stance of monetary policy in 2015-16 and
succeeding years. The Reserve Bank will stay focussed on ensuring that the economy
disinflates gradually and durably, with CPI inflation targeted at 6 per cent by January 2016
and at 4 per cent by the end of 2017-18. Although the target for end-2017-18 and thereafter
is defined in terms of a tolerance band of +/- 2 per cent around the mid-point, it will be the
Reserve Bank’s endeavour to keep inflation at or close to this mid-point, with the extended
period provided for achieving the mid-point mitigating potentially adverse effects on the
economy. As outlined above, several favourable forces are at work, consistent with the
change in the monetary policy stance towards accommodation effected from January. The
Reserve Bank’s intent is to allow the disinflationary momentum to spread through the
economy, but remain vigilant about any resurgence of inflationary pressures that may
destabilise the progress towards the inflation objectives set in the Agreement.
The outlook for growth is improving gradually. Comfortable liquidity conditions should
enable banks to transmit the recent reductions in the policy rate into their lending rates,
thereby improving financing conditions for the productive sectors of the economy. Along with
initiatives announced in the Union Budget to boost investment in infrastructure and to
improve the business environment, these factors should provide confidence to private
investment and, together with the conducive outlook on inflation, deliver real income gains to
consumers and lower input cost advantages to corporates. GDP growth estimates of the
CSO for 2014-15 already project a robust pick-up, but leading and coincident indicators
suggest a downward revision of these estimates when fuller information on real activity for
the last quarter becomes available. Uncertainty surrounding the arrival and distribution of the
monsoon and unanticipated global developments are the two major risks to baseline growth
projections. Assuming a normal monsoon, continuation of the cyclical upturn in a supportive
policy environment, and no major structural change or supply shocks, output growth for
2015-16 is projected at 7.8 per cent, higher by 30 bps from 7.5 per cent in 2014-15, but with
a downward bias to reflect the still subdued indicators of economic activity (Chart 2).
Going forward, the accommodative stance of monetary policy will be maintained, but
monetary policy actions will be conditioned by incoming data. First, the Reserve Bank will
await the transmission by banks of its front-loaded rate reductions in January and February
into their lending rates. Second, developments in sectoral prices, especially those of food,
will be monitored, as will the effects of recent weather disturbances and the likely strength of
the monsoon, as the Reserve Bank stays vigilant to any threats to the disinflation that is
underway. The Reserve Bank will look through both seasonal as well as base effects. Third,
the Reserve Bank will look to a continuation and even acceleration of policy efforts to unclog
the supply response so as to make available key inputs such as power and land. Further
progress on repurposing of public spending from poorly targeted subsidies towards public
investment and on reducing the pipeline of stalled investment will also be helpful in
containing supply constraints and creating room for monetary accommodation. Finally, the
Reserve Bank will watch for signs of normalisation of the US monetary policy, though it
anticipates India is better buffered against likely volatility than in the past."
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