AU Cash Rate

The International Monetary Fund has endorsed the Reserve Bank’s tough monetary policy – while warning rates might need to rise again if the fight against inflation stalls. A report after IMF staff visited Australia, issued on Thursday, says the economy is resilient but faces challenges, including significant risks from abroad. “Growth has slowed; while inflation is retreating from its peak, it remains elevated as demand-supply imbalances persist particularly in sectors like rents, new dwellings and insurance,” the report says. A ...

A snippet from UBS on Pacific Rim central banks: Fed’s easing cycle is just getting started, UBS see another 50 bp of cuts this year and 100 in 2025. Bank of Japan to raise short term rates by 25 basis points by the middle of 2025. See the most aggressive easing moves from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, 200 basis points of cuts by September 2025. Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to wait until Q1/Q2 before starting its easing cycle, expect 75 basis points of easing by September 2025. AUD is UBS' 'most preferred', it'll benefit ...

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is widely expected to hold the cash rate steady at 4.35 per cent when it announces its interest rate decision at 2:30pm today. Only one major bank is still holding out hope the central bank will cut rates by the end of the year. A hold will mean the cash rate will remain at 4.35 per cent for a full 12 months, with the board's next decision not coming until November 5 on Melbourne Cup day. This would mark the seventh consecutive hold. Australia’s unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 per cent in ...

It's highly unlikely the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will follow the US Federal Reserve and vote to cut interest rates at its latest meeting, economists say. Instead, economists largely agree the central bank will opt to keep the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent, where it has sat since November. All 42 experts surveyed by comparison site Finder for its September rate survey said the bank would keep rates on hold. Nearly two-thirds of panellists said they believed the bank would cut rates in February, as it continues to pursue a ...

video University of Queensland Professor John Quiggin says the RBA should have been “cutting rates earlier”. Mr Quiggin told Sky News Business Reporter Ed Boyd that monetary policy “works with a lag”. “They should be taking the brakes off now.”

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will be the final major central bank to announce its policy decision in September. Like the Fed, there is a substantial degree of uncertainty around the size of the cut. Investors have priced in around a 60% probability of a 25-basis-point rate reduction, with the remaining odds being for a 50-bps move. Expectations for a larger cut have gained ground since the beginning of August when the Swiss franc spiked higher against the US dollar and euro. SNB chief Thomas Jordan, who will chair his last meeting ...

video University of Queensland Professor John Quiggin says the RBA should have been “cutting rates earlier”. Mr Quiggin told Sky News Business Reporter Ed Boyd that monetary policy “works with a lag”. “They should be taking the brakes off now.”