India, Aug. 6 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday kept the key repo rate unchanged at 5.50%, as rising trade tensions with United States President Donald Trump added a new layer of uncertainty to the economic outlook.

The RBI move came after a unanimous vote by the central bank's six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which opted to hold the repurchase rate steady after a surprise 50-basis-point cut in June - the third since February.

RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra addressed concerns over Donald Trump's escalating threats to impose higher tariffs on Indian imports due to New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian crude oil.

"We don't see a major impact of US tariffs on the Indian economy unless there is a retaliatory tar...