Lanka rates held

Sri Lanka's central bank Monday kept its key interest rate on hold for the 19th straight month as inflation showed signs of easing, a statement said.
The Colombo-based bank left its benchmark repurchase rate unchanged at 10.5 percent, while the cash reserve ratio -- the percentage sum commercial banks must keep on deposit -- was left at 12.0 percent.
Inflation, which hit a historic high of 28.2 percent in June, has shown signs of easing with the Colombo Consumer Price Index reporting a lower rate of 24.9 percent in August.
"This decrease could be attributed mainly to... a decline in prices of food items as well as the containment of demand pressures through monetary policy," the bank said after its monthly monetary policy meeting.