Australia's central bank would see a stronger case for cutting its benchmar...
SYDNEY - Australia’s central bank would see a stronger case for cutting its benchmark interest rate from record lows if the unemployment rate moved higher and there was no progress in lifting inflation, Governor Philip Lowe said on Wednesday.
Indeed, the Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate at 0.75% at its first meeting of the year on Tuesday after three cuts last year. It also sounded doggedly upbeat about the economic outlook despite devastating bushfires at home and a viral epidemic in China. On the flip side, very low interest rates could pump up asset prices, dent consumer confidence and encourage more borrowing by households eager to buy residential property.“If the unemployment rate were to be trending in the wrong direction and there was no further progress being made toward the inflation target, the balance of arguments would change,” he said.
Financial markets are fully pricing in a cut to 0.50% in June and a 50-50 chance of another easing later in the year, having pushed back expectations after the RBA’s Tuesday rate review. The Bank estimates the fires will shave around 0.2 percentage points off gross domestic product growth across the December 2019 and March 2020 quarters.
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