TUNIS  - Tunisia’s central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7.75 percent, it said on Friday.

The bank last month raised the rate to 7.75 percent from 6.75 percent in its efforts to combat high inflation. It was the third such increase in the past 12 months.

Tunisia’s annual inflation rate rose to 7.3 percent in February from 7.1 percent in January. It had reached 7.8 percent last June, the highest since 1990.

The bank added that Tunisia’s foreign exchange reserves now stand at 14.585 billion dinar ($4.9 billion) from 13.974 billion dinar at the same time last year. ($1 = 2.9954 Tunisian dinars)

(Reporting by Tarek Amara Editing by David Goodman) ((tarek.amara@thomsonreuters.com;))