Moody’s Investors Service on Friday raised India’s growth projection for 2023 calendar year to 6.7% citing upside to growth performance helped up robust underlying economic momentum.
In the Global Macro Outlook 2023-24 (August update), Moody’s said strong services expansion and capital expenditures have propelled India’s 7.8% real GDP growth in the second (April-June) quarter from a year ago. The global rating agency, however, lowered the 2024 growth forecast to 6.1% from 6.5%, citing a high base of 2023.
India’s monsoon season which runs from June to October could also see below average rainfall, resulting in higher food prices. As of August 29, the India Meteorological Department has estimated a 9% rain deficiency across the country.
If El Niño this year proves to be particularly strong in the second half of 2023 and early 2024, agricultural commodity prices could shoot up, Moody’s added.
The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee left the repo rate unchanged for a third time in August. The recent uptick in food price inflation and uncertain El Niño-related weather conditions will delay monetary policy easing consideration to early next year, it said.
With regard to global growth, the US-based agency said tight financial conditions will continue to dampen global economic growth through 2023 and keep growth below trend in 2024.
For the G20, expectations for real gross domestic product (GDP) growth are to slow to 2.5% in 2023 and 2.1% in 2024, from 2.7% in 2022. With regard to growth in China, Moody’s said the economy is facing “considerable growth challenges, causing us to cut our 2024 growth expectations. We have lowered our growth expectation for 2024 to 4% from 4.5%”.
Economic activity in the first half of 2023 outpaced our expectations in multiple countries, including India, Moody’s said. Moody’s had last month affirmed India’s sovereign rating at ‘Baa3’– the lowest investment grade. Earlier this year, Moody’s had projected economic growth in 2023-24 fiscal (April-March) at 6.1%, lower than 7.2% clocked in 2022-23.
