The Reserve Bank has left interest rates on hold at an 11-year high of 4.1 per cent for the third straight month.
Philip Lowe, presiding over his last meeting as RBA governor, on Tuesday left the cash rate unchanged, bringing relief for millions of home borrowers battling a cost of living crisis.
‘Inflation in Australia has passed its peak,’ he said.
Dr Lowe, whose seven-year tenure ends on September 17, had presided over the most aggressive pace of monetary policy tightening since 1989 with 12 interest rates rises since May 2022.
The Reserve Bank has left interest rates on hold at an 11-year high of 4.1 per cent for the third straight month. Philip Lowe (left with deputy Michele Bullock), presiding over his last meeting as RBA governor, left the cash rate unchanged
In his final monthly statement, he defended his legacy.
‘The higher interest rates are working to establish a more sustainable balance between supply and demand in the economy and will continue to do so,’ he said.
‘In light of this and the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, the board again decided to hold interest rates steady this month.’
Australian home borrowers in little more than a year have been their monthly repayments surge by 63 per cent.
As recently as May 2022, a borrower with an average $600,000 mortgage was owing $2,306 a month, when variable rates still had a ‘two’ in front.
This same borrower would be now be paying $3,769 a month under a 6.44 per cent variable rate.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk