RBI Keeps Repo Rate Unchanged At 6.5%

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday hit the pause button and decided to keep key benchmark policy rate at 6.5 per cent even as inflation is trending above its tolerance level.

The rate hike has been paused after six consecutive rate increases aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022.

Announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will not hesitate to take action in the future.

The RBI monetary policy committee (MPC) announced the first bi-monthly policy for FY24, concluding a three-day meeting. The MPC, led by the RBI Governor, met on April 3, 5 and 6 to review the current monetary policy.

Many experts had anticipated the RBI will increase key interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 6.75% to tackle persistently high inflation, which has remained above the RBI’s comfort zone of 6% for most of the time.