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.
