March CPI inflation at 6.9% may trigger rate hike cycle from June: Analysts

A higher-than-expected rise in retail inflation, or consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation in March, could lead to India's first repo rate hike in nearly two years in June, said analysts. Annual retail inflation shot up to a 17-month high of 6.95 per cent in March from a year ago, remaining above the tolerance limit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a third straight month.

Core inflation, excluding food and fuel, rose to 6.53 per cent in March, compared to 6.22 per cent in February. This is the highest since June 2014. READ ABOUT IT HERE

However, since the