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The market predicts that the Reserve Bank will not cut interest rates until the new year. Find out here if conventional wisdom has foreshadowed the RBA’s decision.
After holding the cash rate at 4.35 per cent for the entirety of 2024 thus far, including at its September board meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to stay the course and hold the cash rate at 4.35 per cent.
In a statement, the RBA board said: “Sustainably returning inflation to target within a reasonable time frame remains the board’s highest priority. This is consistent with the RBA’s mandate for price stability and full employment. To date, longer-term inflation expectations have been consistent with the inflation target, and it is important that this remains the case.
“While headline inflation has declined substantially and will remain lower for a time, underlying inflation is more indicative of inflation momentum, and it remains too high. The November SMP forecasts suggest that it will be some time yet before inflation is sustainably in the target range and approaching the midpoint. This reinforces the need to remain vigilant to upside risks to inflation, and 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 board will continue to rely upon the data and the evolving assessment of risks to guide its decisions. In doing so, it will pay close attention to developments in the global economy and financial markets, trends in domestic demand, and the outlook for inflation and the labour market. The board remains resolute in its determination to return inflation to target and will do what is necessary to achieve that outcome.”
