Australia’s central bank has raised interest rates for the first time since June in response to persistent inflation.
The Reserve Bank of Australia increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.35 per cent and raised its inflation expectations for 2024. It said that while inflation had peaked this year, it was still “too high” and was returning to a target range of 2 to 3 per cent — which it is now expected to reach in 2025 — more slowly than anticipated.
The action by the Australian central bank, which raised interest rates 12 times between April last year and June to an 11-year high, runs contrary to decisions by global peers including the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, which all opted to hold rates in the past month.