Things might get 'better' towards Sept-end, says SBI Chairman

Bengaluru: State Bank of India's (SBI) Chairman Dinesh Khara on Tuesday said that things might get "better" on the inflation front towards the end of September.

He said the supply side constraints getting addressed and crude oil prices trending low will help ease the situation.

"Inflation...the recent numbers which came out was 6.7. Going forward the way things are - the supply side constraints which are there are getting addressed, so the situation should be improving going forward," he said in response to a question.

Speaking to reporters here, he said one of the important factors of inflation is crude oil prices, and with them also trending lower, it will also support the inflation to be further tapered down.

"...overall expectation is that, maybe towards the end of September things might look to be even better as compared to what you are seeing (now)," he added.

The SBI Chairman was speaking to reporters after announcing the launch of the bank's state-of-the-art dedicated branch for start-ups in Bengaluru.

Further pointing out that policy rates by RBI is a very key component for inflation, Khara in response to a question said, the policy rates are the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which assesses multiple data points before they arrive at any decision.

"So I think we will have to wait and watch till the next MPC meeting happens, but I think till such time in the intermediary phase, I feel that the supply side constraints are getting addressed," he added.