At its meeting today, the Board decided to: •maintain the cash rate target at 10 basis points and the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances of zero per cent •maintain the target of 10 basis points for the April 2024 Australian Government bond •purchase government securities at the rate of $4 billion a week and to continue the purchases at this rate until at least mid February 2022. Prior to the Delta outbreak the Australian economy had considerable momentum. GDP increased by 0.7 per cent in the June quarter and by nearly 10 per cent over the year. Business investment was picking up and the labour market had ... (full story)

Lenders have slashed variable mortgage rates to attract new customers in the booming pandemic property market, even as the Reserve Bank keeps official interest rates firmly on hold. At its meeting today, the Reserve Bank left its official cash rate target on hold at the record low level of 0.1 per cent, which is where it has been since November last year. However, while official interest rates have remained on hold, lenders have been busy slashing their variable mortgage rates. RateCity reports that the number of variable rates on its database under 2 per cent has jumped from 28 to 46 in just two months. This is also ... (full story)

{video} Australia's interest rate remains on hold at the historic low of 0.10 per cent. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) today met to decide the nation's official cash rate, choosing to keep it on hold at record-low levels as the country continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The central bank has long advised that it will not increase the cash rate until inflation rises to a sustainable target of two to three per cent. Currently inflation is around 1.75 per cent. In his monetary statement, RBA Governor Philip Lowe noted the impact extended COVID-19 lockdowns are having on large parts of the country. "The ... (full story)