At its meeting today, the Reserve Bank of Australia have decided once again to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50% 

• There was a broad-based pick-up in the global economy in 2017. A number of advanced economies are growing at an above-trend rate. This has contributed to a rise in oil and other commodity prices over recent months. Even so, Australia's terms of trade are expected to decline over the next couple of years, but remain at a relatively high level.
• Nationwide measures of housing prices are little changed over the past six months, with prices having recorded falls in some areas. The low level of interest rates is continuing to support the Australian economy. 
• Employment grew strongly over 2017 and the unemployment rate declined. Employment has been rising in all states and has been accompanied by a significant rise in labour force participation. The various forward-looking indicators continue to point to solid growth in employment over the period ahead, with a further gradual reduction in the unemployment rate expected

To view the full statement of Phillip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank, please click here.

Published : 06 Feb 2018