December 06, 2022 at 23:00 PM
RBA Governor Philip Lowe
[Sina Finance]The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its key interest rate for the eighth consecutive month on Tuesday and said it expected further monetary tightening ahead as policymakers grapple with the worst inflation in 30 years.
The RBA raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.1% at its final meeting in 2022, the highest level since November 2012. Following Tuesday’s decision, the RBA has hiked rates by a cumulative 300 basis points since May, the largest annual tightening since 1989.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a post-meeting statement that the Board of Governors is expected to raise interest rates further in the coming period, but not on a pre-set path. “The magnitude and timing of future rate hikes will continue to depend on incoming data.”
Lowe’s comments on further policy tightening helped the Aussie to as high as $0.6729 at one point, with the Australian three-year bond yield rising as much as 6 basis points to 3.07%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has been a forerunner in slowing the pace of tightening as it tries to rein in inflation, which is expected to hit 8% this quarter, while protecting economic growth. It was the first advanced-economy central bank to cut interest rate hikes to 25 basis points in October and signaled it may pause hikes to assess the impact of hikes so far.
In contrast, the central banks of New Zealand and the United States raised interest rates by 400 basis points and 375 basis points respectively during their tightening cycles and signaled their determination to keep inflation down regardless of the economic cost.
Interest rates in Australia will peak at around 3.5 per cent by mid-2023, as priced in money markets, broadly in line with economists’ estimates. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand forecast late last month that the final rate for next year would be 5.5 percent, and the Fed is also expected to continue tightening policy.