INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: RBI Governor Urjit Patel on Friday said global economic activity, which has hold up so far, is becoming asynchronous
In a press conference, Patel said the decade-long accommodation by central banks globally is tapering off and emerging markets are facing
headwinds from rising crude oil prices
The recent fall in the rupee, he said, is moderate compared with other emerging markets
He did not give any band for the rupee-dollar exchange range, saying it is the market which will determine the same
upside risk for emerging markets, Patel said
a status quo on the short-term lending rate
The repo rate stands at 6.5 per cent.
Patel noted that global trade was losing pace probably because the ongoing trade war
He said MPC felt global headwinds pose huge risks to the growth and inflation outlook.
It is imperative to further strengthen the domestic
macroeconomic fundamentals, he said.
Patel said kharif sowing has weathered initial setbacks
The outlook for food inflation is benign, he said, adding that the impact of minimum support price (MSP) hike on food inflation is uncertain
Any fiscal slippage, he said, would impact inflation outlook
On GDP growth, he said the real growth has been strong, aided by expansion in private consumption and investment
The governor said dollar tightening, escalating tariff wars, country-specific events would be noteworthy.
A steep rise in crude prices and
hike in minimum support price (MSP) for agri-commodities had stoked inflationary concerns, even as the numbers for first half of FY19 were
There have also been concerns over tight liquidity in the system.
The MPC projected inflation at 4 per cent for September quarter and 3.9
per cent to 4.5 per cent in the second half of this financial year
In its August policy review, the MPC had projected CPI inflation at 4.8 per cent for H2 of FY19.
RBI has retained the GDP growth estimate at
It expects economic growth to accelerate to 7.6 per cent in FY20.
