Australia cuts key rate to record low

Aussie drops: The Australian dollar fell to 75.72 US cents against the US dollar yesterday after Australia cut its key rate to a record low. – Bloomberg

SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low and left the door open for further easing to counter a wave of disinflation that’s swept over the developed world. The move sent the local currency tumbling and stocks climbing.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens and his board lowered the cash rate by 25 basis points to 1.75% yesterday, a move predicted by just 12 of 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The rest had seen no change.