RBI hikes short-term lending and borrowing rates by 0.25 per cent and 0.50 per cent respectively

Housing, auto and corporate loans may become expensive with the Reserve Bank raising short-term key policy rates to check spiralling inflation, say bankers. “The monetary action by RBI is aimed at attacking inflation. It has made fund costlier for banks. It is a signal for upward movement of interest rates,” Central Bank of India Executive Director Arun Kaul told PTI.

RBI today raised its short-term lending and borrowing rates by 0.25 per cent and 0.50 per cent respectively to bring inflation down to six per cent by March 2011 from double digits now.

At the same time, some feel that there could be some impact on the short-term rates of maturity below one year.

Short-term funds would get little costlier and there is possibility that the short end rates could also go up in the future, Indian Bank Executive Director V Ramagopal said.

IDBI Bank executive director Sushil Muhnot said that banks would have to factor in many things before increasing interest rates.

The impact of policy action on interest rate would come after some time, Muhnot said, adding liquidity is also under pressure at present.

However, Oriental Bank of Commerce Executive Director S C Sinha said the RBI policy action may not have impact on interest rates since cash reserve ratio (CRR), the amount of deposits banks mandatory park with the apex bank, has not been touched.

Another policy stance is to bring down the corridor between repo and reverse repo rate to 125 basis points, indicating unwinding of easy monetary policy, Sinha said.

The short-term lending rate (repo) goes up to 5.75 per cent while short-term borrowing rate (reverse repo) rise to 4.50 per cent with immediate effect.

Prior to gobal financial meltdown, the corridor between repo and reverse repo was 100 basis points.

RBI hikes short term rates to tame inflation

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday raised its short-term lending and borrowing rates by 0.25 per cent and 0.50 per cent respectively to bring inflation to six per cent by March 2011 from double digits now, but the move would put pressure on banks’ interest rates.

In its monetary review, the central bank, however, kept its cash reserve ratio (CRR), the cash which banks are required to keep with RBI, unchanged.

The RBI raised upwards the inflation target from 5.5 per cent to six per cent and said that economy will grow by 8.5 per cent, up from earlier projection of 8 per cent, this fiscal.

The increase in short-term lending rate (repo) to 5.75 per cent and short-term borrowing rate (reverse repo) to 4.5 per cent will be effective immediately.

Earlier this month, RBI had hiked repo and reverse repo rates by 0.25 per cent as inflation remained above 10 per cent for the fifth month in succession. Prior to this, RBI had raised thrice its key rates, since January.

“Inflationary pressures have exacerbated and become generalised with demand side pressures clearly visible…given the spread and persistence of inflation, demand-side inflationary pressures need to be contained,” the RBI said. RBI’s projection of a higher inflation than the earlier estimate could partly be attributed to the government’s move of raising fuel prices.

The central bank said there can be an up to one per cent impact on WPI-inflation owing to fuel price hike.

In June, the government raised petrol prices by Rs 3.5 a litre while decontrolling them and hiked diesel prices by Rs 2 a litre, LPG by Rs 35 a cylinder and kerosene by 3 a litre.

The RBI said that the monetary policy stance would be aimed at containing inflation while it will be prepared to respond to any further build-up of inflationary pressures.

Revising upwards the GDP target for this fiscal, the RBI said that indications are that the economy is steadily reverting to its pre-crisis growth trajectory.

However, uncertainty over global recovery could have possible adverse consequences for India, the apex bank said.

If the global recovery slows down, it will affect all emerging market economies, including India, through the usual exports, financing and confidence channels, the RBI said.

A global slowdown also carries the significant risk of a potential slowdown in capital inflows, it said, adding that it may act as constraint to domestic investment.

On liquidity pressures in the system due to payment for spectrum, the RBI said though current market conditions indicate that liquidity pressures will ease, the system is likely to remain in deficit mode “for now”.

In another significant move, the RBI said it will now undertake mid-quarter policy reviews, on the lines of major central banks abroad, “to take the surprise element out of the off-cycle actions.”

These reviews will be conducted at an interval of about one and a half months, after each quarterly review, the central bank said.

Source: PTI