Tuesday 18/Feb/2025 – 12:27 PM
The Australian Central Bank decided today, Tuesday, to reduce interest rates for the first time in more than 4 years, to join the ranks of other major global central banks, as inflation allowed an area of space to reduce policy.
The Australian Central Bank reduces interest rates for the first time in 4 years
According to Reuters, the Australian Central has reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.10%, the first recorder since November 2020, when the central bank reduced the main interest rate to a record low level, as it fought the economy’s slowdown during the epidemic.
The members of the Australian Reserve Bank Board of Directors said in the central statement: Although the policy decision today carries progress on inflation, the Board of Directors is still cautious about the possibilities of more facilitation in politics.
The decision is compatible with the market expectations, and with the rise in government bonds in recent weeks in the hope of reducing interest rates and the Australian Reserve Bank of the major global central banks that started a mitigation course late last year.
At its last meeting of monetary policy in December, the Central Bank stated that it had become more confident in low inflation, which may allow it to reduce policy at some point.
According to the Australian Statistical Office data, the inflation rate in Australia decreased over the twelve months until the last quarter of December to 2.4%, compared to about 2.8% in the twelve months until the last quarter of September, and the Australian Reserve Bank set the goal of inflation in the medium term between 2 % And 3%.
The seasons of the country’s gross domestic product increased by 0.3 % in the third quarter of September, while the annual growth slowed to 0.8 %, from 1.0 % in the previous quarter, the lowest rate since the epidemic.
The Australian Reserve Bank stated in its statement issued on Tuesday: The basic expectations are to increase the growth of families’ consumption with high income growth, but there is a risk that any recovery in consumption is slower than expected.
