At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 3.50 per cent. Having picked up in the early months of 2012, growth in the world economy has since softened. Current assessments are that global GDP will grow at no more than average pace in 2012. Most commodity prices have declined, which has helped to reduce inflation and provided scope for some countries to ease macroeconomic policies. Australia's terms of trade peaked nearly a year ago, though they remain historically high. China's growth has moderated to a more sustainable pace, but does not appear to be slowing further. Conditions in ... (full story)