The Reserve Bank of Australia announced on Tuesday that interest rates will again be held at 4.35 per cent, as the economy remains sluggish. The cash rate has idled on the same figure following the three RBA decisions already made this year. Interest rates last budged in November 2023, when they were hiked up from 4.10 per cent — but inflation has proved persistent. The latest hold on interest rates was the outcome expected from the RBA’s two-day meeting, one of eight for the year.
All but five of them predict there will be no changes to the cash rate in the next quarter, before cuts begin in the final three months of the calendar year. The RBA board said on Tuesday that “returning inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe” is its highest priority, but noted that recent data suggests the path will be neither smooth nor quick.