Accrual funds: Rates are usually 150-200 bps more than bank fixed deposits

Crude oil prices are expected to stay high through 2018 while food prices will be dependent on the monsoon

Indian bond market and debt fund investors have suffered reverses over the past six months. The interest rate cycle reversed in Q3, 2017-18, and started rising, after a long period when rates fell.  Crude oil prices started falling in September 2014 and by December 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was in rate-cutting mode. The repurchase rate was slashed from 8 per cent to 6 per cent over the next three years.
 
But in August 2017, the RBI stopped cutting and the Monetary Policy Committee cited fears of rising inflation.  Crude prices have risen since then. Food prices