Indian equity markets opened lower this morning ahead of RBI’s repo rate announcement. Sensex dropped over 330 points. Nifty was down by over 120 points.
The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee began its three-day meeting on Monday. The six-member committee will conclude its three-day review against a backdrop of escalating domestic inflation and shifting global macroeconomic pressures. It is set to announce its bi-monthly interest rate decision on Wednesday amid challenging factors, including rising inflation and crude oil prices above $100 a barrel driven by Middle East tensions.
The Asian markets were slightly weaker on Wednesday even though US stocks touched new highs, as oil prices rose with a storm heading for the Gulf of Mexico and tensions escalating between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. The last repo rate hike was in February 2023, when the RBI raised the rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.50 per cent. It kept the rate unchanged through 2023-24 before beginning its rate-cut cycle in 2025. Currently, the RBI’s policy repo rate stands at 5.25 per cent. Brent crude rose about 1% to $101.5 as storm risks to US oil output and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia outweighed increased Middle East supply
