India inflation probably nudged up to 5 per cent in April
Bangaluru: Higher food and fuel prices probably nudged
The consumer price data is due to be released at 1200 GMT on Thursday. "The central bank has to be confident of hitting the 5 per cent target next year before deciding on easing further," said Rishi Shah, economist at Deloitte.
Shah expects inflation to rise to 5.20 per cent in April, though the median forecast from the survey of 27 economists was 5.0 per cent.
Last month, Reserve Bank of
A recent Reuters poll predicted only one more interest rate cut in 2016, most likely toward the end of the year.
"Unless inflation really surprises on the downside, we don't see much happening and the focus should be on liquidity rather than interest rates for now," said Abhishek Upadhyay, economist at ICICI Securities.
Above-average monsoon rains are expected this year and should spur rural demand as two-thirds of
"The monsoons will play an important part in determining growth by giving a boost to rural demand in the industrial sector, as we believe that a more sustained increase in investments is still some time away," Shah said.
The latest poll also showed industrial output grew 2.5 per cent in March, faster than 2.0 per cent the month before.
That quickening in pace is mostly due to a surge in infrastructure output, which accounts for over one-third of the wider industrial measure and hit a 16-month high in March.