The Reserve Bank of Australia has announced it will keep the cash rate on hold at 1.5 per cent following today’s April monetary policy meeting.
Markets had priced for the cash rate to remain steady, with the ASX 30 day interbank cash rate futures market giving a 98 per cent chance of ‘no change’ at 3 April 2017.
Members of the ANU Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA) RBA Shadow Board also said keeping the cash rate at 1.5 per cent made sense, with Shadow Board member and professor of economics at Macquarie University Jeffrey Sheen noting Australia’s GDP growth wasn’t currently supportive of a cash rate hike.
“The current annual GDP growth in Australia of 2.4 per cent remains tepid, reflected in continuing low wage growth as well as business investment,” he said.
“With the big lenders having raised their mortgage rates in response to the cost of foreign funds, the case for a cash rate rise has been weakened.”
Stimulate new ideas. Stimulate new thinking. Top up your CPD points and hear from industry experts with ifa’s Knowledge Centre. Keep up to date with the latest trends and reforms, all while adding to your CPD hours. Explore the Knowledge Centre now.
The government has introduced legislation around the adviser disciplinary body into parliament. ...
Marc Bineham, former AFA national president, has launched new book, The Money Sandwich, aimed at helping over-50s better manage their money and retire...
Mayfair founder James Mawhinney has said a new venture he’s offering to investors is within the bounds of the law despite being hit with a 20-year ...
Get notifications in real time and stay up to date with content that matters to you.
