Mumbai, Oct. 21 -- The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy committee (MPC) has warned that broadening price pressures could prolong its rate-hiking cycle, with policymakers flagging the risk that higher input costs will feed through to consumer prices and inflation expectations, minutes of its October meeting showed.

The minutes of the MPC's 5-7 October meeting, released on Wednesday, showed increasing signs of inflation broadening across the economy. The share of items recording price increases above 4% rose to 37% in August from 20% in March, governor Sanjay Malhotra said.

Elevated global oil and commodity prices, coupled with a weakening rupee, could keep inflationary pressures high by raising import costs. The RBI is also ...