Botswana's central bank leaves bank rate steady at 6.5 pct

GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana's central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 6.5 percent on Thursday, saying the prevailing monetary policy stance was consistent with maintaining inflation within its medium-term target range of 3-6 percent. Botswana's consumer inflation slowed to 2.8 percent year-on-year in February, from 3.6 percent in January.