RBI may go back to 'neutral' stance in February meet, say experts

RBI said it was willing to reconsider its stance if there were favourable macroeconomic indicators

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided to retain “calibrated tightening” as its monetary policy stance. Most analysts, however, feel the RBI may revert to the “neutral” stance in its next monetary policy meeting, slated for February next year.

In the fifth bi-monthly policy review, the RBI revised the inflation forecast for the second half of 2018-19 to 2.7-3.2 per cent from 3.9-4.5 per cent projected in the October policy review. Monetary policy committee (MPC) member Ravindra Dholakia voted for a change in the stance to neutral, but other members favoured “calibrated tightening”.

In the October policy review, the MPC