We expect a couple of more rate hikes in this cycle, says ICICI Bank

B Prasanna, head-global markets group, ICICI Bank said that we expect a couple of more rate hikes in this cycle.

“But I do not think the next one or next two policies might have a rake hike,” he added.

“The biggest takeaway for me from the policy was that  the RBI Governor brought in an inflation projection for the next year, the Q1 inflation projection at 5 percent which was not there earlier,” said Prasanna.

Talking about liquidity, Prasanna said, “I suppose that when they look at liquidity projection, they look at it only for the next fortnight or at best for the next month because whatever said and done, there is a lot of uncertainty about which way the Fx flows are going to move. It could very well happen that we could again get back a lot of flows going forward.”

According to him there will be a gradual deterioration of liquidity in the next two quarters.

"RBI didn’t answer of not doing more OMOs and there is a 2.5 lakh crore of deterioration in liquidity," he said.

"The language of RBI Guv or MPC was more important than the rate hike yesterday as there was a consistent sprinkling of dovishness in the speech," he added.