Modi Breaks March Jinx as India Bond Yield Drops Most Since 1999
- Twenty-eight of 29 economists predict a rate cut next week
- Rupee completes biggest monthly gain since September 2013
Narendra Modi, India's prime minister.
Photographer: Nicky Loh/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Indian sovereign bonds capped their best March in 17 years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s budget restraint and slower inflation boosted odds of monetary easing by the central bank.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will cut the benchmark repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 percent at the April 5 meeting, according to 26 of 29 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Two predict a cut to 6.25 percent while one sees no change. Foreign holdings of rupee-denominated government and corporate debt rose 8 billion rupees ($121 million) this month after falling 87.6 billion rupees in February, the most since April 2014.