RBI Holds Repo Rate Steady, Signals Watchful Stance on Inflation

The Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee voted five to one to hold the benchmark repo rate steady, extending a pause that has now stretched across three consecutive reviews. The lone dissent came from an external member who had pushed for a quarter-point cut.

In its accompanying statement, the committee flagged food-price volatility as the primary risk to the inflation outlook, while noting that core inflation has remained within the target band for five straight months.

Economists at several brokerages said the decision was in line with expectations, though a few had flagged a small probability of a cut given softer industrial output data released earlier in the week.

The central bank governor said future decisions would remain data-dependent, with the committee's next scheduled review set for early next quarter.