India inflation rises higher than expected in June

India's inflation rate rose faster than analysts' expectations in June, official data showed Monday, dampening hopes of further interest rate cuts by the country's central bank later this year.

Consumer prices increased 5.40 percent last month from a year earlier, according to the statistics ministry, higher than the 5.10 percent gain predicted by a Bloomberg survey of 35 economists.

The figure was up from the 5.01 percent recorded in May and marked the second consecutive month that inflation has risen, with food prices climbing during India's summer monsoon.

"Rate action by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will now depend upon how rains pan out and international events," said Devendra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings and Research.

Pant said the central bank would keep a close eye on how China's recent stock market slump played out, along with an expected rate hike by the United States Federal Reserve later this year.