Australia's central bank kept its interest rate unchanged for a second month to provide time for policy makers to assess whether global financial-market turmoil will slow economic growth.

Governor Glenn Stevens left the overnight cash rate target at 6.5 percent in Sydney today, as expected by all 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The bank raised the rate to an 11- year high Aug. 8, before fallout from the U.S. subprime-mortgage slump began to ricochet around the world.

Australia