RBI is weighing the need for supporting growth despite surging inflation keeping in mind factors such as localised lockdowns, widening output gap and rising jobless rate.
The bond market seems to have reconciled with the fact that no matter what the inflation print, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will keep the 10-year bond yields below 6 per cent, say experts. To that effect, the central bank seems to have trained its focus on the 10-year bond, mopping up most of it to create a liquidity shortage in the market of that particular paper. Such constricted liquidity helps drive yields even with relatively lower value of transactions. In declared secondary market operations, through government securities acquisition programme (G-SAP) or open market operations (OMOs), the RBI has purchased Rs 41,451 crore of the 10-year paper, out of the outstanding stock of Rs 91,270 crore. The central bank also does anonymous purchases from the market. Bond dealers say the RBI, through a clutch of nationalised banks, could be regularly picking up the 10-year bond.
Read more about Bond bulls bring down 10-year yield below 6% for first time since Feb 12 on Business Standard. This was after the RBI assured the market of ample liquidity and another round of secondary market purchase of Rs 35,000 crore