COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's central bank kept key policy interest rates steady at a multiyear low on Monday as expected after it slashed them by 50 basis points last month in a surprise move to stimulate the economy.

The current monetary policy stance is appropriate, the central bank said in a statement.

The repurchase rate and reverse repurchase rate were left at 6.50 percent and 8.50 percent, respectively.

It also said the country had recorded a balance-of-payments surplus of $749 million by end-October, broadly in line with the year-end target of $700 million.

Sri Lanka has already cut its key policy rates by 125 basis points and commercial banks' statutory reserve ratio by 200 bps since December.

The $59 billion economy is forecast to grow more than 7 percent this year after it grew 6 percent and 6.8 percent in the first and second quarters, respectively.

The island nation's economic growth slowed to a three-year low of 6.4 percent last year from a record 8.2 percent in 2011.

A Reuters poll of nine analysts had expected the central bank to keep the monetary policy rates unchanged.