The Reserve Bank of Australia has held the cash rate in its final decision of the year.
The board met on Tuesday and decided to hold the cash rate at 4.35 per cent for the ninth time in a row.
The cash rate has remained at a 12-year high since the most recent hike in November 2023, an elevated level aimed at taming inflation.
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In its decision, the board admitted while inflation had fallen since its peak in 2022, it was still too high.
“The most recent forecasts published in the November Statement on Monetary Policy (SMP) do not see inflation returning sustainably to the midpoint of the target until 2026,” it said.
“The Board is gaining some confidence that inflationary pressures are declining in line with these recent forecasts, but risks remain.”
Heading into the new year, the Board said it would pay “close attention” to developments in the global economy in its risk assessments.
“The Board remains resolute in its determination to return inflation to target and will do what is necessary to achieve that outcome,” it said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers told reporters on Tuesday, the decision was “the outcome that the market expected”.
“It means that it is now well over a year since the last increase in interest rates,” he said.
Chalmers said he remained “focused” on his job, which is returning inflation to target without ignoring the “very substantial risks to growth”.
“I note in the Reserve Bank’s statement that they talk about how inflation has fallen substantially and that the board is gaining some confidence that inflationary pressures are declining,” he said.
“This has been our focus as a government … we know that people are under cost-of-living pressures, and that’s our primary focus as a government.
“That’s why this week we’ll see a 10 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators and students will see their HECS-HELP balance reduced as well, as part of our effort to ease cost-of-living pressures at a time when the economy has been soft and people are under substantial pressure.”
The hold was widely predicted by economists, with all 44 of those polled by Reuters last week predicting the move.
The majority now expect the first cut in the June quarter next year, a departure from the November survey when the first three months of 2025 was the more popular pick.
Despite this, Compare the Market economic director David Koch has urged borrowers not to wait for the New Year to get their finances in order.
“Give yourself an early Christmas present and find yourself a lower interest rate,” he said.
“There’s up to a 1.15 per cent difference between advertised rates, meaning someone with a $750,000 loan could be saving $571 on their monthly repayments when they refinance from a rate of 7.24 per cent to 6.09 per cent
“Assuming the cash rate doesn’t change until at least February, that’s a $1713 saving over the course of three months.”
Meanwhile, other central banks around the world have begun easing borrowing costs, but the RBA maintains Australia did not take rates as high as its peers and the employment market has proven unusually strong.
– With AAP
