Wall Street Journal survey: 9 of 11 economists expect the Reserve Bank of India to keep the policy repo rate at 5.25% on Friday; 2 expect a 25bp hike to 5.50%. ANZ economist Dhiraj Nim said persistent rupee weakness and rising inflation that could breach the RBI’s 6% tolerance later this year make a rate rise potentially justified. A Citigroup research analyst said the RBI has signalled it is prepared to wait for second‑round inflation effects and that using rates to defend the currency would be

Wall Street Journal survey: 9 of 11 economists expect the Reserve Bank of India to keep the policy repo rate at 5.25% on Friday; 2 expect a 25bp hike to 5.50%. ANZ economist Dhiraj Nim said persistent rupee weakness and rising inflation that could breach the RBI’s 6% tolerance later this year make a rate rise potentially justified. A Citigroup research analyst said the RBI has signalled it is prepared to wait for second‑round inflation effects and that using rates to defend the currency would be a last resort. Bank of America economists said reasons for tightening are accumulating but there is currently no room for a large rate hike to stabilise the rupee.