MUMBAI: The RBI has said that consumer and business confidence has improved as a result of improvement in economic activity and dynamics in February. This has attributed the sharp reduction of the third wave to the resumption of activity.
“The Indian economy stabilized in February 2022 after some moderation of momentum in the previous month when the third wave was at its peak. By March 15, 2022, however, the third wave slowed down sharply, with a decline in the seven-day average of daily infections 3,500,” said the State of the Economy report published in the RBI’s monthly bulletin. The central bank, however, acknowledged that the geopolitical crisis has added to the uncertainty over the global macroeconomic and fiscal landscape, while Financial markets are volatile from rising oil and commodity prices.
“In the absence of an early resolution to the ongoing conflict, the crisis could have an adverse impact on global recovery, necessitating a decline in global growth for 2022 and beyond,” the report said.
According to the RBI, retail and entertainment activity, grocery and mobility around pharmacies, parks, workplaces and transit stations are above pre-pandemic levels. “The job market continues to be bullish, with the JobSpeak Index climbing to its all-time high in February 2022,” the report said.
The report, which acknowledges inflationary pressures on input prices, does not see that being passed on completely to consumers. “Input costs in manufacturing and services, as reflected in the purchase manager’s indices, increased further in February. However, selling prices increased only marginally in manufacturing and services in February.”