2 Min Read
SYDNEY, March 10 (Reuters) - The head of Australia’s central bank on Wednesday rebuffed market talk of rate hikes, saying it will take at least until 2024 to reach full employment even as the economy was now within “striking distance” of its pre-pandemic output.
Australia’s A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy expanded by a larger-than-expected 3.1% in the December quarter, clocking its fastest ever back-to-back quarterly rises. Job growth has been sturdy while retail sales are going strong too.
“These better-than-expected outcomes are very welcome news,” the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) governor, Philip Lowe, said in a speech in Sydney.
RBA board wants to see inflation within 2%-3% target range RBA forecasts imply inflation may undershoot target for several years RBA watching for signs of fall in lending standards amid house price surge
SYDNEY, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Australia will need to maintain “very significant monetary support” for several years, with the cash rate set to stay near zero for “as long as is necessary” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s top central banker said on Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its cash rate at a record low 0.1% at its first policy meeting of the year on Tuesday and surprised the market by extending its bond buying programme by another A$100 billion ($76 billion).