Australia set for maiden rate cut since 2020

Waiting game: Customers shop at the Sydney Flower Market in preparation. A pick up in consumer spending, aided by tax cuts, and rising uncertainties about the impact of US trade policies may convince policymakers to stay cautious. — Reuters

SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank is poised to cut interest rates for the first time in four years even as the board remains alert to potential inflationary pressures from mounting global trade turmoil and risks of an election splurge at home.

A majority of economists in a Bloomberg News survey, as well traders, expect the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to finally embark on easing today with a 25-basis-point reduction in the cash rate to 4.1%.