# Why are Central banks not raising interest rates despite rising oil prices?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-focus-by-the-hindu-421346/why-are-central-banks-not-raising-interest-rates-despite-rising-oil-prices
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-focus-by-the-hindu-421346/why-are-central-banks-not-raising-interest-rates-despite-rising-oil-prices.md
Podcast: [In Focus by The Hindu](https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-focus-by-the-hindu-421346)
Published: 2026-04-13T13:09:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/THGU1024015697.mp3
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/THGU1024015697.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/in-focus-by-the-hindu-421346/episodes/why-are-central-banks-not-raising-interest-rates-despite-rising-oil-prices
Duration seconds: 1574

## Resource

Traditionally, higher inflation leads to interest rate hikes to slow demand. This approach was used after the pandemic, when prices surged across major economies. But this time, the situation is more complex. The conflict in West Asia has pushed up energy prices and while that is driving inflation higher, it is also straining household budgets. As people spend more on essentials like fuel and electricity, they tend to cut back elsewhere.This creates a difficult balancing act. Could raising interest rates now risk pushing economies into a slowdown or even a recession? Or does holding back risk letting inflation persist? And how much of this hesitation is driven by uncertainty around the evolving conflict and energy markets? In this episode, we unpack these questions and examine why central banks are holding back and how this phase of inflation is different. We also look at what it could mean for growth and policy choices going forward. Guest: Professor Rohit Azad, who teaches Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University Host: Devyanshi Bihani Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/in-focus-by-the-hindu-421346/episodes/why-are-central-banks-not-raising-interest-rates-despite-rising-oil-prices/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-focus-by-the-hindu-421346/why-are-central-banks-not-raising-interest-rates-despite-rising-oil-prices.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.