Reserve Bank of Australia leaves cash rate unchanged at 2.5 pct
2013-10-01 13:58:37
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday announced its decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.5 percent.
The decision was in line with economists' expectation.
In a statement accompanying the decision, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said the current setting of monetary policy was still appropriate.
He said the Australian economy had been growing at below trend pace.
"This is expected to continue in the near term as the economy adjusts to lower levels of mining investment," he said.
"The unemployment rate has edged higher. There has been an improvement in indicators of household and business sentiment recently, though it is too soon to judge how persistent this will be."
Stevens said the Australian inflation rate had been consistent with the medium-term target.
"The board will continue to assess the outlook and adjust policy as needed to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the target," he said.
The RBA governor said the Australian dollar had recently risen but it was still about 10 percent below its level in April.
"A lower level of the currency than seen at present would assist in rebalancing growth in the economy," he added.