New Delhi, Oct. 18 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may need to raise its benchmark repo rate to at least 6.25 per cent to contain inflation risks, according to SBI Funds Management, an assessment that has gained relevance following the latest rise in retail and wholesale inflation.

In its October 2026 Market Outlook report, the fund house said further monetary tightening could be necessary even after the RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 per cent earlier this month.

"From a real rate perspective, policy rates may need to move to at least 6.25% to enable a real rate around 1%," the report stated.

The assessment implies another 75 basis points of rate increases from the current level, although the report does not spe...