Australia’s central bank has left the door wide open for another cut in interest rates but felt a pause this month was prudent partly due to uncertainty about the behavior of households in a world of very low interest rates.
In minutes of the March 3 meeting, when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprised some by not delivering a back-to-back easing, the central bank said members saw benefit in allowing some time for the structure of rates and the economy to adjust to the earlier change.
“They also saw advantages in receiving more data to indicate whether or not the economy was on the previously forecast path,” the minutes said. “Taking account of all these factors, members judged it appropriate to hold the cash rate steady for the time being, while recognizing that further easing over the period ahead may be appropriate to foster sustainable growth in demand while maintaining inflation consistent with the target.”
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.