Proloan

December 2011 - Monetary Policy Decision

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:12:38 +1100

At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent, effective 7 December 2011.

November 2011 - RBA cuts cash rates by 25bp to 4.50%

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:30:00 +1000

At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent, effective 2 November 2011.

Recent information is consistent with a moderation in the pace of global growth, though fears of a major downturn have not been borne out so far. The pace of US economic expansion picked up in the September quarter, but is still only moderate and leaves considerable spare capacity. China's growth has slowed, as policymakers there had intended. Output in Asia has now recovered from the effects of the Japanese earthquake, and domestic demand in the region is generally expanding. Trade performance, however, is starting to see some effects of a significant slowing in economic activity in Europe, where the prospects are for economic weakness to continue. Commodity prices, while still at high levels, have generally declined over recent months.

August 2011 - The Reserve Bank has opted to keep rates on hold at 4.75 per cent for another month.

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:00:00 +1000

It's good news for mortgage holders today - the Reserve Bank has opted to keep rates on hold at 4.75 per cent for another month.

The move comes on the back of recent comments by the Governor of the Reserve Bank that consumers had become cautious and were spending less and saving more.

"Whether we were going to get a rate rise was a bit touch and go this month," says Domain.com.au property expert Carolyn Boyd. "On one hand inflation came in higher than expected last week, but on the other there's still plenty of uncertainty in the global economy and locally, retailers are complaining of very tough conditions."

Looking over the next year, it is difficult to tell where rates are headed with economists divided about whether they will head up, or down, or remain stable.

But Boyd says for mortgage holders, it's always safer to err on the side of caution and assume that rates could go up. "With that thinking in place, it's a good idea to pay a bit extra off your mortgage if you can," she says.

Each 0.25 per cent interest rate rise adds another $60 to the monthly cost of an average Australian mortgage.

June 2011 - Interest rates steady at 4.75%

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:20:00 +1000

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent.
The global economy is continuing its expansion, led by very strong growth in the Asian region, though the recent disaster in Japan is having a major impact on Japanese production, and significant effects on production of some manufactured products further afield. Commodity prices have generally softened a little of late, but they remain at very high levels, which is weighing on income and demand in major countries and also pushing up measures of consumer price inflation. In response, a number of the countries with stronger expansions have been moving to tighten their monetary policy settings over recent months. Overall, though, financial conditions for the global economy remain accommodative. Uncertainty over the prospects for resolution of the banking and sovereign debt problems in Europe has increased over the past couple of months, which has been adding to financial market volatility.