PM Johnson trip, NBFC clean up, WPI surges

Underpinning UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India are talks toward a free-trade agreement, which both countries are aiming to have in place before the end of the year. But the early indications are that any deal would have very limited macro impact. Meanwhile, the surge in wholesale price inflation in March is another indication that price pressures are rapidly building. That reinforces our view that the RBI will hike the benchmark repo rate in June.