India's retail inflation eased to a five-month low in March, but remained above the central bank's medium-term target, supporting views that monetary policy is likely to remain unchanged at the next review in early June. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has kept rates steady since a cut of 25 basis points in August, is widely expected to maintain rates at their current level in the next review due on June 6.
Last week, RBI lowered its April-September retail inflation projection to 4.7 percent to 5.1 percent, from a previous range of 5.1 percent to 5.6 percent released in February. India's consumer price index rose 4.28 percent in March from a year earlier, data released by the Ministry of Statistics showed on Thursday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted March's consumer inflation rate would ease to 4.20 percent from 4.44 percent in February. Forecasts ranged from 3.90 percent to 5.10 percent. Most of the analysts expect the monetary policy committee will hold rates for at least a few months.
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