Interest rates likely to be stable in near term: Pawan Bansal

New Delhi, May 6 (UNI) The government today said interest rates are expected to remain stable in the near future with easy cash conditions.

''With comfortable liquidity in the system and no change in policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), interest rate scenario in the near term, barring any abrupt changes in the sentiments or global liquidity conditions, appears to be stable,'' Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The government has cut duties and banned exports on a variety of products to increase local supplies, while the RBI maintained a tight monetary stance to rein in inflation that hit its highest level in 42-weeks at 7.57 per cent.

The RBI, in its policy review last month, raised the cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points to 8.25 per cent with effect from May 24 to control inflation-stoking cash in the system, but kept all other official rates unchanged.

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