At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 per cent. While the outlook for the global economy remains reasonable, the risks are tilted to the downside. The US–China trade and technology disputes are affecting international trade flows and investment as businesses scale back spending plans because of the increased uncertainty. At the same time, in most advanced economies, unemployment rates are low and wages growth has picked up, although inflation remains low. In China, the authorities have taken further steps to support the economy, while continuing to address risks in ... (full story)

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut the official cash rate once again at its October meeting on Tuesday. The RBA was widely expected to cut the interest rate from 1% to 0.75% in a further effort to support the ailing Australian economy. It marks the third cut this year after it began slashing rates in June. A 0.25% cut on Tuesday brings the official interest rate to 0.75%, half of the 1.5% it was at in May — a level at which it had sat for more than two years. More than three-quarters of economists, including all of the big four banks, told Bloomberg before the decision that they anticipated a cut. The ... (full story)

With the RBA matching most market consensus, AUD/USD stays little changed around 0.6750 ahead of the European opening on Tuesday. The Aussie central bank marched wide market expectations of a 25 basis points’ (bps) cut to its benchmark Cash Rate. However, investors seem more concerned with the RBA Rate Statement that mentions “gentle turning point appears to have been reached.” With this, the quote initially surged more than 30 pips to 0.6776 but later on witnesses pullback to near-0.6750 area. Earlier during the day, upbeat readings of Australia’s September month Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from AiG and ... (full story)