By Jason Bryce The history of interest rates in Australia tracks our national economic development and some of the biggest political and financial events in [...]
The interest rate change With the Australian economy continuing to push forward with signs of economic growth and a global revival starting to take shape, [...]
After months of falls in employment, there are some signs our job market may be turning the corner. This week the Department of Education, Employment [...]
Advertisement
The Reserve Bank has given its strongest signal yet that if the economy continues to recover at its current pace, then its next move on [...]
The Reserve Bank said this week it will start raising interest rates if evidence of an economic recovery continues to emerge. “The recent stronger than [...]
The big news this week was the Reserve Bank’s decision to hold rates steady at 3 per cent, which is a 49-year low. “Economic conditions [...]
Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens confirmed this week that the Australian economy has weathered the economic crisis better than originally expected. Although Australia has experienced [...]
Minutes from this month’s Reserve Bank rate meeting showed that Australia has weathered the global recession remarkably well. “Recent information on the domestic economy suggested [...]
When the Reserve Bank kept interest rates at 3 per cent last week, it recognised that the global economy is stabilising, after a sharp contraction [...]
After weeks of mixed results, it came as no surprise to see the Reserve Bank hold the official cash rate steady at 3 per cent [...]
Mixed reports about the state of the Australian economy serve as a reminder that while the government’s stimulus package has had some results, the battle [...]
The flow of optimistic news continued this week. A report by a university research group released this week, says the worst of the economic downturn [...]
Minutes from the Reserve Bank's June 2 board meeting indicate that following recent rate cuts, the central bank is taking a 'wait and see' approach [...]
Economic news this week seems to suggest the government's stimulus measures are starting to have some effect. According to one leading industry construction group, the [...]
It was no surprise that the Reserve Bank left the official cash rate at 3 per cent this week. This is a 49 year low [...]
Reserve Bank deputy governor Ric Battellino spoke at a finance industry function this week and suggested that central banks around the world will not hesitate [...]
Minutes from the Reserve Bank's May 5 board meeting were released this week and showed that the central bank remains cautiously optimistic about Australia's economic [...]
Economic news this week was dominated by the release of the federal budget on Tuesday night. RBA governor Glenn Stevens and his board will be [...]
It was no huge surprise that Governor Glenn Stevens and his team at the Reserve Bank chose to leave rates unchanged at today's monthly board [...]
While markets have been distracted by the global outbreak of swine flu this week, there was some good economic news for Australia. US gross domestic [...]
The Reserve Bank will be forced to go into action sooner rather than later as the outlook for the Australian economy continues to worsen. A [...]
The Reserve Bank has pushed the button on rates again this week and cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points. This brings rates [...]
The likelihood that the Reserve Bank will make at least a 25 basis point cut when it meets next Tuesday increased sharply this week.Data out [...]
This week Anthony Richards, the Reserve Bank's head of economic analysis, gave a relatively upbeat assessment of the state of Australia's housing market. In his [...]
The big news this week was the release of the Reserve Bank's minutes from its March 3 meeting. The minutes suggested that the RBA wants [...]
The case for another rate cut in April is building as the latest employment figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that the [...]
The Reserve Bank chose to keep rates at 3.25 per cent when it met for its monthly board meeting yesterday. With cuts of 400 basis [...]
The market's expectations of another rate cut in early March have fallen. Reserve Bank (RBA) Governor Glenn Stevens gave a reasonably upbeat presentation to the [...]
The big news this week was the release of the Reserve Bank's minutes from its February 3 board meeting. Governor Glenn Stevens signed off on [...]
The Reserve Bank may be forced into further action following the rejection of the Federal government's $42 billion stimulus plan on Thursday this week. The [...]
There was no surprise this week as Governor Glenn Stevens slashed the official cash rate by 1 per cent. The cut was in line with [...]
A rapid slowdown in inflation means that the Reserve Bank can safely keep cutting interest rates when it meets on Tuesday next week. The Australian [...]
This week saw greater signs of deterioration in the Australian economy with a major bank survey of consumer sentiment showing a fall of 2.2 per [...]
The health of the Australian economy continues to worsen as the jobless rate in December rose to its highest level in 21 months.Data out this [...]
The case for another large rate cut next month is building as housing construction approvals during November last year collapsed.According to figures released by the [...]
The Reserve Bank released the minutes from its December board meeting this week. The minutes provided further insight into the board's decision to cut rates [...]
Growing evidence that the Australian economy is contracting and concern about China's economic outlook are fuelling speculation that the Reserve Bank may have to make [...]
The Reserve Bank cut rates this week by 100 basis points in an effort to prop up the stalling economy. This was the fourth cut [...]
At its meeting yesterday, the Reserve Bank Board decided to reduce the cash rate by a further 100 basis points, to 4.25 per cent, effective [...]
The key focus this week was the release of private sector capital expenditure data for the third quarter. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics [...]
As growing signs of a weakening Australian economy continue to emerge, the Reserve Bank has clearly flagged that more aggressive rate cuts are in store. [...]
The Reserve Bank released its November Statement on Monetary Policy this week and there can be no doubt that more rate cuts are on their [...]
In an effort to stave off the looming threat of a recession, the Reserve Bank slashed 75 basis points off the official interest rate this [...]
The Reserve Bank is set to cut the official cash rate again when it meets on Melbourne Cup day next Tuesday. The big question is [...]
A spike in inflation for the September 2008 quarter is unlikely to stop the Reserve Bank from cutting interest rates when it meets next month.According [...]
The case for another rate cut next month continues to build as the outlook for the Australian economy worsens. Research released this week by a [...]
The Reserve Bank took the market completely by surprise this week by slashing the official cash rate by 100 basis points to 6.0 per cent. [...]
Whether or not banks will cut interest rates for most borrowers next week once the RBA cuts the cash rate became a major talking point [...]
A traumatic week in global financial markets rubbed out earlier expectations of a further decline in retail interest rates. Interest rate futures are still priced [...]
A most disruptive week on financial markets probably reinforces the now long-held view that another cut in official cash rates is likely in early October. [...]
The short-term outlook for interest rates changed little over the week to Friday, 12 September, with financial markets priced to allow for the next step [...]
The Reserve Bank earlier this week began to cut official interest rates, by 0.25 percentage points to 7.0 per cent, reversing a slow tightening of [...]
Although consumer confidence has taken a battering over the last nine months from high interest rates and record fuel prices, businesses have demonstrated stronger than [...]
The Reserve Bank's minutes from its August board meeting released this week confirmed market expectations that the Bank will start cutting the cash rate when [...]
Stronger than expected wages growth released this week is unlikely to stop the Reserve Bank from starting to cut rates. Data released on Wednesday from [...]
The Reserve Bank left rates unchanged when it met for its monthly board meeting on Tuesday this week. Governor Glenn Steven's statement revealed that the [...]
A sharp slump in retail sales during June and a weaker outlook for the business sector are starting to fuel expectations of a rate cut [...]
Although inflation is now sitting at its highest level since the early 1990s, the strong consumer prices reported this week are not expected to trigger [...]
The minutes from the Reserve Bank's board meeting which were released this week showed that the Board is comfortable with the pace of economic slowdown.The [...]
The Reserve Bank Board certainly has a job on its hands to sift through the slew of economic data, surveys and reports currently flooding the [...]
The Reserve Bank's fight against inflation appears to be gaining ground. The RBA board left the cash rate at a 12-year high of 7.25 per [...]
The outlook for the resources sector just keeps getting better and better. The bad news is that the inflationary threat from rising commodity prices is [...]
The minutes released this week from the Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting in early June revealed how challenging it is to get monetary policy [...]
Signs that the economy is cooling and the Reserve Bank is winning its war against inflation are good news for RBA governor Glenn Stevens. A [...]
The Reserve Bank chose to sit tight and leave rates unchanged for the third consecutive month when it met on Tuesday this week. The cash [...]
The interest rate hikes over the last 12 months are starting to bite with new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that business [...]
Official interest rates are still more likely to stay steady than rise again this year, despite the minutes of the last Reserve Bank board meeting [...]
The chances of any further interest rate rises are receding as the signs of economic slowdown continue to gather and the Rudd Government hands down [...]
The Reserve Bank believes interest rates are probably high enough to rein in inflation over time, but a number of conflicting economic influences means borrowers [...]
Despite last week's revelations that inflation is at its highest levels in well over a decade, the Reserve Bank is unlikely to raise interest rates [...]
The threat of another interest rate rise in May has returned with the release of the March quarter CPI showing that inflation is currently running [...]
The hopes among home loan borrowers that a long cycle of interest rate rises has come to an end are more soundly based following the [...]
There are growing signs that the economy is starting to slow and interest rate rises may be at an end but another strong month of [...]
Hopes are rising that interest rates have peaked after Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens' testimony to Parliament today, along with spending and credit data pointing [...]
In good news for home loan borrowers, the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 7.25% at [...]
It may be of no great consolation to borrowers now paying upwards of 9 per cent on their home loans, but the string of rises [...]
There is a glimmer of hope for borrowers in the minutes of the Reserve Bank's last monthly meeting which add weight to the belief that [...]
Home loan borrowers take heart. This week could be, just maybe, the week that interest rates peaked and the rate cycle turned. If not, it [...]
We may be coming to the end of the cycle of rising interest rates but it’s likely that we’re not quite there yet. With the [...]
Home loan borrowers should ready themselves for another interest rate rise in the coming week with the Reserve Bank likely to raise official rates by [...]
Australian borrowers should brace themselves for further rises in interest rates. Despite the February rise of 0.25 percentage points taking variable mortgage rates close to [...]
Interest rates could be on the rise again as soon as March as the Reserve Bank warns inflation remains "uncomfortably high" and the job market’s [...]
Home loan interest rates have topped 9 per cent for the first time in more than a decade following the RBA's decision, as expected, to [...]
Australian borrowers should be watching their home loan lender like a hawk over the next two weeks if the Reserve Bank, as now appears highly [...]
It is hard to see the Reserve Bank board not raising interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points on February 5, following the latest quarterly [...]
The challenge facing the Reserve Bank in setting interest rates in early 2008 just got a lot tougher. At a time when most domestic indicators [...]
The strong chance of a February rise in official interest rates for Australian borrowers has lessened somewhat in the new year amid the growing threat [...]
Despite growing concern about international economic conditions going into 2008 in the wake of the global credit crunch, the Reserve Bank is still of a [...]
Despite another rise in the jobless rate in Australia, a further cut in interest rates in the US and central banks' liquidity transfusion to world [...]
Despite the fevered predictions of one, two or even three more interest rate rises looming next year, the chances of multiple rate hikes in 2008 [...]
The change of government produces little in the way of change to the outlook for interest rates in 2008 with the RBA keen to keep [...]
Given the great number of Australians currently struggling under heavy mortgage burdens, the election campaign has done little justice to a group whose votes will [...]
Borrowers may well face a further interest rate rise in the early part of 2008, that is the most likely scenario arising out of the [...]
No surprise in the Reserve Bank's decision to raise interest rates this week, but the spectre of further rate hikes to come in the next [...]
As if the risk of another hike in official interest rates wasn't already high after last week's inflation figures, latest economic data suggests there is [...]
The chances of an unprecedented election campaign interest rate rise are now very high after quarterly CPI figures released today show underlying inflation breaching the [...]
The chance of another interest rate rise before Christmas remains a possibility, and hangs very much on the release of the September quarterly inflation figures [...]
The news of unemployment slipping to a new 32-year low is further good news for the economy and John Howard, but not so good for [...]
Interest rates have been kept steady by the Reserve Bank at its October board meeting. Despite a buoyant economy to which the RBA says inflation [...]
This week has seen signs that the global financial markets might be returning to normal following the shakeout caused by the sub-prime lending crisis in [...]