SYDNEY, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Australia's official interest rate remained on hold at 0.25 percent following a monthly meeting of the country's central bank on Tuesday.
The decision came as little surprise to most observers, with Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe signalling prior to the meeting that a lower figure was unlikely.
However, adding to the economic pressure on Tuesday was an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 in the State of Victoria, which earlier announced 439 daily infections.
Victoria has been unable to contain a surge in new cases over the past month, with authorities introducing tighter restrictions over the weekend, including a curfew and more limits on businesses.
In a statement released after the meeting, Lowe noted that, "the downturn is not as severe as earlier expected and a recovery is now underway in most of Australia."
However he added that the developments in Victoria were likely to have a "major effect" on the state's economy.
"A stronger recovery is possible if progress is made in containing the virus in the near future," he said.
Lowe said that the board considered a baseline scenario to be a 6 percent contraction in the Australian economy in 2020, before bouncing back with a growth figure of 5 percent in 2021.
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