Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today welcomed the Reserve Bank's decision to keep policy rates

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unchanged and expressed the hope that inflation would moderate in the coming weeks.

"The need to improve the business sentiments and recover the growth momentum in the remaining months of the current fiscal necessitated a review of the monetary policy stance.

"I believe that inflation will moderate further in the coming weeks and, therefore, the announcement today is welcome," Mukherjee told reporters outside the Parliament House complex.

Concerned over economic slowdown, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today kept policy rates unchanged. The central bank maintained repo (rate at which banks borrow from RBI) at 8.5 per cent, reverse repo (rate at which the RBI borrows from banks) at 7.5 per cent.

The Finance Minister also welcomed steps taken by RBI yesterday to check the rupee's slide and speculations by imposing restrictions on forward trading in the local currency by FIIs and traders, and by capping banks' exposure to the forex market.

"I also welcome the Governor's resolve to check the speculative interventions in foreign exchange market which among other factors have contributed to the sharp depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar," Mukherjee said.

He further hoped that today's announcement should help in regaining India's growth momentum with improved macro economic parameters in the remaining period of fiscal year 2011-12.