Australia Keeps Interest Rate at 4.35%

General

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held interest rates steady at 4.35%, following its board meeting on Tuesday.

In a statement, the RBA acknowledged inflation had "fallen substantially" but it was still beyond the "midpoint" of the boards target band of 2 to 3%.

"The board is not ruling anything in or out. Policy will need to be sufficiently restrictive until the board is confident that inflation is moving sustainably towards the target range," the RBA statement said.

The board reiterated "returning inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe" was its highest priority, stating underlying inflation, currently at 3.7%, was still too high.

The RBA has kept rates steady since November, judging that the cash rate of 4.35% is restrictive enough to bring inflation to its target band of 2-3% while preserving employment gains

Source: Qatar News Agency