Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee's October meeting show policymakers are open to further tightening, while staying wary of the cost to growth.

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• The RBI raised its policy rate on October 7, its first increase since 2023, to counter accelerating inflation.
• Reports put the repo rate at 5.50% after the hike.
• Retail inflation had risen for ten straight months, reaching 4.8% in August, above the RBI's 4% medium-term target.
• Minutes of the meeting, reported on October 21, show policymakers see room for more increases without wanting to hurt growth.
• Governor Sanjay Malhotra told colleagues that inflation was showing growing signs of spreading across the economy.
• Retail inflation rose faster than expected to 5.54% in September, close to the RBI's upper tolerance limit of 6%.
• The RBI projects inflation to average 6% in the October-December quarter.
• It raised its inflation forecast for the current financial year to 5.2% from 5%, and lifted its growth projection by 40 basis points to 7.1%.
• Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said policymakers need not wait for firmer proof of broadening inflation, since monetary policy works with a lag, and another hike could be needed.
• Price pressures were linked to global energy shocks, higher crude prices and a weak El Nino-affected monsoon.
• HSBC and Goldman Sachs expect the RBI to raise rates again in December.