SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank left interest rates unchanged yesterday, pausing after two increases as a higher Aussie dollar drags on the economy and evidence mounts that a consumer borrowing boom may be cooling.
Monthly retail sales figures released shortly after the rate announcement showed the first fall in a year in spending. That seemed to support the decision by the bank’s policy-setting board to sit back and assess how consumers react to last year’s dual tightening before acting again.