World

Australia's central bank keeps cash rate unchanged at 4.35 pct

SYDNEY
2024-03-19 14:18

Already collect



SYDNEY, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate target on hold at 4.35 percent, after a board meeting concluded on Tuesday.

The target has been remaining at its current level since November last year, when the central bank lifted it from 4.1 percent to 4.35 percent.

According to a statement released by the Reserve Bank Board, inflation continued to ease but remained high.

The consumer price index (CPI) indicator was steady at 3.4 percent over the year to January, with momentum easing over recent months.

With inflation in both goods and services moderating, the board believed that higher interest rates are working to establish a more sustainable balance between aggregate demand and supply in the economy.

"While recent data indicate that inflation is easing, it remains high. The Board expects that it will be some time yet before inflation is sustainably in the target range," it said.

The central bank held a "highly uncertain" outlook for economic development.

Household consumption growth remained "particularly weak" amid high inflation and interest rate hikes, while the rise in unit labor costs stayed "very high", the board said.

The central bank has raised interest rates 13 times since May 2022 to rein in inflation, seeing the cash rate target soaring from 0.1 percent to the current 4.35 percent.

Despite a visible drop from the peak of 7.8 percent in 2022, the annual CPI hit 4.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, still well above the central bank's target.

"The central forecasts are for inflation to return to the target range of 2-3 percent in 2025, and to the midpoint in 2026," said the board.

At a press conference following the meeting, central bank governor Michele Bullock noted that the fight against inflation is not yet won.

"We're not confident enough that we can rule out further interest rate changes but we do think we are on the path to get ourselves back to inflationary targets," Bullock added.
Add comments

Latest comments

Latest News
News Most Viewed