Blog Search Results

At its August board meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate once again on hold at 2.5 per cent. The decision means that rates have been on hold for 12 months – the longest single period since 2006.

The RBA said monetary policy is appropriately configured to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the target. “On present indications, the most prudent course is likely to be a period of stability in interest rates,” RBA governor Glenn Stevens said.

In the statement, Mr Stevens said that conditio ...

Read Full Article

The Reserve Bank of Australia has left rates on hold at 2.5 per cent for the ninth consecutive month. The last time the RBA moved on rates was in August 2013.

The stability in the economy means the decision to keep rates stable is not a surprise. The RBA said that the economy had been growing at a pace that was below trend but appears to have firmed around the start of 2014. It attributed this partly to strong increases in resources exports but also to the growth in consumer demand and a strong expansion in housing construction.

It remains unclear whether the ch ...

Read Full Article

The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent for the ninth consecutive month. The result was widely expected by economists, however, this month there were hints that the RBA was more optimistic around the jobs market.

RBA governor Glenn Stevens said demand for labour had been weak over the past year and this has fed into the rise in the unemployment rate. “More recently, there has been some improvement in indicators for the labour market,” he says. “But it will probably be some time yet before unemployment declines consiste ...

Read Full Article

Month in Review: April 2014

For the seventh consecutive meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent.

However, it appears even more likely that a rate rise will occur before the end of the year. One factor behind this expectation is the significant increase in housing prices over the past year. House prices rose by 2.3 per cent in March over Australia’s eight capital cities to take the total growth for the first quarter to 3.5 per cent.

Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens says while there ...

Read Full Article

Many economists expect the next direction for interest rates to be up, so it’s a good time for borrowers to consider a fixed-rate mortgage.

The number of fixed rate loans being taken out tends to increase dramatically before interest rates rise. The latest official figures show the proportion of new home-loan customers who chose a fixed rate in December was 16.8 per cent, which is above its long-term average, suggesting that many feel this is as low as fixed rates are going to go.

The main advantage of fixed rate loans is the peace of mind borrowers have i ...

Read Full Article