The Reserve Bank of India is likely to deliver a fourth consecutive policy rate hike this week, with a half-percentage point increase, joining global central banks that are raising rates sharper than estimated to cushion inflation-battered consumers.
According to an ET poll conducted among 20 banks, fund managers and financial institutions, the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will likely assess the risk of spillover inflation and a sliding rupee, which could hurt growth.
The MPC will announce its bi-monthly policy on September 30. Repo rate, the rate at which banks borrow short-term funds, is now 5.40% after three hikes that began in May. The central bank has increased the benchmark gauge by 140 bps, or 1.4 percentage point, this fiscal.
