Foreign lender HSBC on Thursday said that there is no immediate pressure on lending rates even if the Reserve Bank squeezes money supply to contain inflationary expectations.

Calling for retaining fiscal stimulus to carry forward the growth process, HSBC India head Naina Lal Kidwai said that interest rates could only gradually rise in the next six months. “That (interest rate rise) is going to happen next month? No. In the next six months... gradual,” she said on the sidelines of a micro-finance conference here.

RBI is slated to come out with its third quarter monetary policy on January 29. She added that inflation is a concern and will be watched, however, monetary policy is not the only way to contain this. Wholesale price inflation rose to 7.31% in December from 4.78% in the previous month, higher than the 6.5% level by this fiscal-end projected by the RBI.