RBI's move to inject liquidity seen as a positive for bond prices
Published on Apr 29, 2025
By IANS
- MUMBAI — The Reserve Bank has decided to inject more liquidity into the
banking system through the purchase of Government bonds for an aggregate amount
of Rs 1.25 lakh crore in May.
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- The move is also expected to prop up bond prices, which
had declined due to a sell-off by foreign banks and primary dealers after the
uncertainty triggered by the Pahalgam attack.
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- The RBI's open market operations (OMO) to purchase
government bonds will be carried out in four tranches between May 6 and May 19.
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- The decision was taken after a review of current and
evolving liquidity conditions, according to an RBI statement.
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- The move comes close on the heels of the RBI's
announcement on April 1 to buy government bonds worth Rs 80,000 crore, which
was followed by another Rs 40,000 crore purchase announced on April 11.
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- RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra has stated that the central
bank will continue to monitor evolving liquidity and market conditions and take
measures as appropriate to ensure orderly liquidity conditions.
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- The bond purchases are in continuation of the RBI's
recent measures to inject liquidity into the system. In March, it conducted OMO
purchases of government securities worth Rs 1 lakh crore in two tranches of Rs
50,000 crore each.
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- The central bank also held a dollar-rupee buy/sell swap
auction of $10 billion for 36 months. Besides, the central bank this week
reduced borrowing costs by cutting the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points
and changing its neutral stance to accommodative. The steps were taken as part
of the soft money policy to spur economic growth, as the inflation rate has
come down.
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- According to financial analysts, the fresh liquidity
infusion is also expected to help fetch a better price for the new benchmark
bond, which would be auctioned on May 2.
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- The RBI announced the new bond after the old benchmark
bond completed the outstanding amount of Rs 1.84 lakh crore.