RBA holds official cash rate at September 2017 meeting
The Reserve Bank met expectations today by leaving the official cash rate steady at 1.50%.
The RBA board’s decision to leave the official cash rate on hold at its September meeting was widely predicted. 100% of the experts polled in the monthly finder.com.au Reserve Bank Survey correctly forecast the rate hold.
CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said ongoing evidence of a cooling housing market was likely one of the key factors behind the RBA board’s decision.
“CoreLogic home value figures released last Friday confirmed that the pace of capital gains has slowed in Sydney and Melbourne. These are the two housing markets that have caused the most concern for policy makers because of the previously high rates of capital gain that had been running since early 2012, coupled with record high levels of household debt and high concentrations of investment,” Lawless said.
RBA cash rate changes at a glance
Lawless said many commentators had called for a rate hike in light of surging values in Sydney and Melbourne, but that slowing conditions would take the heat out of this argument.
“With growth conditions across the housing sector moving back to a more sustainable level of growth, the likelihood of a cash rate hike in 2017 appears highly unlikely,” he said.
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