RBA minutes: Australia's central bank actively considered April rate hike before deciding on pause
|Reuters reports that the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) April 4 policy meeting released on Tuesday showed the decision not to hike was a close call, as a surprise surge in migration and pay rises for public workers added to the case for more action.
´´In the end, members felt it was best to hold for now and assess the impact of the steep 350 basis points of tightening already delivered which was clearly helping to cool consumer demand.´´
"Members agreed there was a stronger case to pause at this meeting and reassess the need for further tightening at future meetings," the minutes showed.
´´The Board was keen to see data on inflation, employment, consumption and business conditions in April, along with the RBA staff's updated economic forecasts before deciding whether to change the 3.6% cash rate at the May meeting.´´
´´RBA Governor Philip Lowe has since emphasized that the pause did not imply the increases were over and it might tighten further should inflation and consumer demand stay hot.´´
´´The Board also noted the domestic banking system was strong enough to withstand recent stress in global financial markets and was not a handbrake on policy.´´
AUD/USD update
AUD/USD has popped a couple of structure levels on the minutes and is making tracks in the 0.67s.
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