RBI policy hawkish, expect rate cut only in Apr-Jun 2024: Analysts

The Reserve Bank’s status quo in policy rates and the accompanying commentary was termed as a “hawkish” pause by analysts on Friday.
Many professional watchers said the fourth consecutive pause pushes their expectations of a rate cut further, with some saying it can happen only in the April-June quarter of 2024.
After announcing the rate panel decision, Governor Shaktikanta Das said the RBI will be “actively disinflationary” and “emphatically reiterated”.
The panel also stuck to the stance of “withdrawal of accommodation”, and Das later hinted that a relook at it is not possible till inflation cools down.
“We foresee a rate cut only in the first quarter of next fiscal, assuming normalising inflation and slowing growth,” ratings agency Crisil said, adding uneven distribution of rainfall during the monsoon season, rising crude oil prices and tight global food supplies as upside risks to inflation this fiscal.
Foreign brokerage Goldman Sachs termed it as a “hawkish hold” from the RBI