Australia central bank keeps rates steady, GDP data awaited

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in Sydney, Australia, 01 September 2015. The RBA announced it will keep interest rates on hold at an historic low of two percent. The Australian bond market has been weighed down by a spike in oil prices, nervousness about China's pace of growth and fears of a September US rate rise. EPA

SYDNEY: Australia's central bank kept interest rates at a record low on Tuesday in a widely expected decision ahead of GDP data that is likely to show economic growth shifted a gear lower in the second quarter.