India, March 27 -- Norway's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged on Thursday despite signaling an easing in the previous policy session in January, citing a stronger than expected acceleration in inflation and the uncertain economic outlook but continued to hint at the possibility of a reduction during the course of the year.
The Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee, led by Governor Ida Wolden Bache, held the policy rate steady at 4.5 percent, Norges Bank said.
"Inflation has picked up and been markedly higher than expected. If the policy rate is lowered prematurely, prices may continue to rise rapidly," Governor Bache said. "Therefore, we decided to leave the policy rate unchanged now," the Norges Bank chief add...