MUMBAI - India's benchmark 10-year bond yield touched a three-week high on Tuesday and posted its sixth straight monthly rise as expectations for more aggressive monetary tightening rose amid sustained high global crude oil prices.

The benchmark bond yield ended trading at 7.42%, up 1 basis point on the day after earlier rising to 7.46%, its highest since May 9.

On the month, the yield rose 28 basis points, after rising 30 bps in April. It has risen by a total 109 bps over the last six months.

Oil prices extended a bull run after the European Union agreed to a partial ban on Russian oil and China decided to lift some COVID-19 restrictions amid rising demand ahead of peak U.S. and European summer driving season.

"Crude is holding above $120 a barrel. It is likely to keep the upward pressure on domestic inflation, so expectations that inflation will start easing may not necessarily materialise," a senior trader at a foreign bank said.

India imports nearly 85% of its oil needs and high crude prices push up inflation and hurt the rupee by widening the country's trade and current account deficit.

The partially convertible rupee declined for a fifth straight month, ending at 77.64 per dollar, compared with its close of 77.5375 on Monday.

The rupee dropped 1.6% in May to post its biggest monthly loss since September. Traders will be looking at the GDP data due at 1200 GMT for near-term cues.

Asia's third-largest economy probably grew 4.0% in the January-March quarter from a year earlier, a Reuters poll showed last week. That would be the slowest pace in a year, following 5.4% growth in the previous quarter.

The latest Reuters poll conducted post the out-of-turn 40 bps rate increase earlier in May showed 14 of 53 economists expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to hike by 35 bps to 4.75% in June, while 20 expect a larger move ranging from 40-75 bps, including 10 who forecast a 50 bps hike.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) is due to announce its next policy decision on June 8.

The RBI's primary focus is to bring inflation down closer to target, but it cannot disregard the concerns around growth, Governor Shaktikanta Das told the Economic Times newspaper last week.

"The MPC next week will be the key trigger now. Depending on today's GDP data, we need to see if they stick to a potential 50 bps rate increase or go for something smaller to protect growth," a senior dealer with a private bank said.

(Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Shounak Dasgupta)