Has the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to raise, hold, or cut interest rates at its first meeting of the new financial year? Find out here.
In its May meeting, the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to cut the cash rate by 0.25 per cent to 3.85 per cent, after holding it at 4.1 per cent in April.
Today (Tuesday, 8 July), the RBA board decided to hold the cash rate at 3.85 per cent.
In a statement, the board said: “Uncertainty in the world economy remains elevated. While the final scope of US tariffs and policy responses in other countries remains unknown, financial market prices have rebounded with an expectation that the most extreme outcomes are likely to be avoided. Trade policy developments are nevertheless still expected to have an adverse effect on global economic activity, and there remains a risk that households and firms delay expenditure pending greater clarity on the outlook.
“Setting aside overseas developments, private domestic demand appears to have been recovering gradually, real household incomes have picked up, and there has been an easing in some measures of financial stress. However, businesses in some sectors continue to report that weakness in demand makes it difficult to pass on cost increases to final prices.”