New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said Governor Shaktikanta Das will make an unscheduled statement on Wednesday at 2 pm, according to a notification by the central bank.
According to a report in Bloomberg, the announcement is triggering speculation on rate hikes.
The twitter account of the RBI has mentioned Governor Shaktikanta Das will address the public at 2 pm local time via You Tube, without providing any more details.
According to the report, yields on the benchmark 10-year bond surged as much as nine basis points to 7.21 per cent, while the benchmark stock index extended losses to 1.1 per cent.
The unscheduled announcement comes just as the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates by 50 basis points later on Wednesday, which may spur capital outflows from emerging markets.
“Traders are trying to price in the possibility of an interim rate hike ahead of the Fed,” said Harish Agarwal, fixed income trader at FirstRand Bank.
During its April MPC meet, the central bank shifted its focus from growth to inflation.
In March, headline inflation stood at 6.95 per cent, breaching the RBI’s comfort level of 6 per cent for a third consecutive month.
According to economists, price pressures to rise more in the coming months.
The S&P BSE Sensex plunged as much as 1.1 per cent. All but one of 19 sectoral sub-indexes compiled by the BSE declined. However, the rupee was marginally higher.
“Though the chances of a mid-policy rate increase looks thin, the fact that the Governor is making a surprise statement has become a perfect storm for equities,” said Abhay Agarwal, fund manager at Piper Serica Advisors.