Reserve Bank likely to raise interest rates twice before weighing a pause

June's jumbo hike, which followed a 40 basis points increase in May, is prompting analysts from Nomura Holdings Inc. and Barclays Plc to pencil in a 35 basis-point move in August

India’s monetary policy makers will likely raise interest rates two more times before they even consider taking a breather toward the end of the year.

That’s the takeaway of several economists from the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s meeting earlier this month, when the panel hiked the key rate by a half-point to 4.90% to anchor inflationary expectations. The Reserve Bank of India’s rate panel is scheduled to meet thrice more this year.

June’s jumbo hike, which followed a 40 basis points increase in May, is prompting analysts from Nomura Holdings Inc. and Barclays Plc to pencil in a