REYKJAVIK, September 22, 2010 (AFP) - Iceland's central bank cut rates Wednesday, slashing its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points to 6.25 percent.

The bank also lowered its other rates by 0.75 points -- the deposit rate to 4.75 percent, its maximum bid rate for 28-day certificates of deposit to 6.0 percent and its overnight lending rate to 7.75 percent, it said in a statement.

As is its habit, the Sedlabanki gave no immediate reason for its decision but said it would provide more information later in the day.

Since Iceland's massive financial and economic crisis in late 2008, when the main interest rate soared as high as 18 percent, the central bank has progressively reduced borrowing costs in an attempt to get the country's economy moving again.

The Sedlabanki last lowered its main rate on August 18, by one full point, to 7.0 percent, pointing out that inflation, which at the height of the crisis passed 18 percent, was slowing and the Icelandic krona was appreciating.