RBI policy: MPC may raise repo rate 35-50 bps, shows Business Standard poll

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to lift the policy repo rate by 35-50 basis points (bps) on September 30, according to a Business Standard poll, as it seeks to bring back elevated domestic inflation within its target range.

Analysts said that a heightened pace of policy tightening by central banks in advanced economies is also seen as increasing pressure on the RBI to continue front-loading rate hikes to maintain adequate interest rate differentials.

The mode of the Business Standard poll comprising 12 respondents was the expectation of a 35-bp hike by the MPC, following its three-day review meeting starting September 28. The repo rate — the rate at which the RBI lends to banks —