Australia keeps interest rate unchanged at 4.5%

SYDNEY - Australia's central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged and signaled it may keep borrowing costs steady in coming months as it assesses the impact of the most aggressive rate increases in the Group of 20.

Governor Glenn Stevens and his policy-setting board kept the overnight cash rate target at 4.5 percent, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement in Sydney on Tuesday. The decision was predicted by all 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The Australian dollar was little changed after the central bank, which has raised borrowing costs six times since early October, said its monetary policy setting was "appropriate for the near term".