Slow growth: The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) head office in central Sydney. The RBA has opted to downplay the accumulation of evidence that first-quarter GDP will be soft. – Reuters
SYDNEY: The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) shrugged off a likely slowdown in the economy when it left its benchmark interest rate on hold for the 10th straight month yesterday.
Governor Philip Lowe said growth was still expected to accelerate above 3% in the next couple of years despite probably slowing in the March quarter, citing a broad-based pick-up in the global economy alongside a local improvement in jobs and non-mining investment. But he counter-balanced that with a warning: underemployment was keeping a lid on wage gains which in turn is restraining household spending.
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