BS policy poll: RBI may push rates up by 30-50 bps, say economists

MPC may front-load rate hikes to tame inflation, say economists

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Comm­ittee (MPC) is likely to announce a repo rate hike of 35-50 basis points (bps) in its policy statement on August 5 in a bid to tackle elevated inflation, according to a majority of respondents in a Business Standard poll.

Of the 10 institutions polled, three expected the MPC to straightaway raise the benchmark policy rate by 50 bps; three others predicted an incr­ease of 35 bps. Two institutions gave an estimate of a 35-50-bp hike, while one provided a range of 40-50 bps for policy tightening. One institution said the MPC could