Indian central bank raises two key interest rates

India’s central bank have raised two key interest rates by a quarter percentage point each, in a move that surprised many as it came faster than expected.

The Reserve Bank of India late yesterday raised its overnight borrowing rate to 5.75% and its repurchase rate to 6.75% with immediate effect. Both rates were last raised in January by a quarter percentage point each.

The rates were increased after a “review of current macroeconomic and overall monetary conditions,” the bank said in a brief statement without elaborating.

The increases came on the same day that central banks in Europe and South Korea also raised key rates.

The announcement came hours after a top finance ministry official told Dow Jones Newswires that the government would enact measures to contain inflation in the face rising fuel prices.