NEW DELHI -- The Reserve Bank of India on Friday raised its benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.90%, the fourth consecutive hike since May, joining global peers in taking aggressive measures to tackle rising prices against the backdrop of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The move was widely expected, with all 51 economists polled by Reuters expecting an increase, though they were split on its size. The tightening comes after India's retail inflation rate for the month of August surged to 7% from 6.71% in July -- mainly due to higher food prices -- and remained well above the RBI's upper tolerance limit of 6% for the eighth straight month.