A Security guard stands outside Reserve Bank of India headquarters in Mumbai, India, April 6, 2023. (PHOTO /AP)

MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India's key lending rate was held steady for a third straight policy meeting on Thursday, as widely expected, as inflation concerns resurfaced following higher-than-usual seasonal spikes in food prices in recent weeks.

India has raised rates by 250 basis points (bps) since May 2022 in a bid to cool surging prices

The monetary policy committee (MPC), which has three members from the central bank and three external members, kept the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) unchanged at 6.50 percent in an unanimous decision, with five out of six members voting in favour of the decision.

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India has raised rates by 250 basis points (bps) since May 2022 in a bid to cool surging prices.

Food price spikes in India, typical at the onset of the monsoon, drove up headline inflation in June, snapping a four-month downward trend. Analysts expect it to have reached 6.4 percent in July, moving out of the RBI's 2 percent-6 percent comfort band.