Providing some relief to heavily indebted homeowners, the market has in effect ruled out a change before November. Up to 80 per cent of forecasters surveyed by Bloomberg now believe the next rate rise will not be until February next year. Wage growth inched up only slightly to 2.1 per cent in the three months to December, although the RBA now appears more confident that it has begun to climb out of the doldrums. "The low level of interest rates is continuing to support the Australian economy. "Further progress in reducing unemployment and having inflation return to target is expected, although this progress is likely to be gradual."
RBA left interest rates on hold
- Tuesday, Mar 06 2018
The Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate at a record-low 1.5 per cent, as sluggish wage growth and inflation put the board in a holding pattern for the 17th meeting in a row. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe used the word "gradual" to describe Australia's economic recovery three times in his short statement on monetary policy on Tuesday, indicating the bank is in no rush to raise interest rates from their historic lows.