The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by 25 basis points to reach 4.1%, contrary to expectations that they would stabilize at 3.85% at the bank meeting that took place this morning, Tuesday, June 6, after raising them also by 25 basis points at the last meeting, to reach their highest levels since the beginning of the year. 2012.
The interest statement issued by the bank stated that inflation in Australia is still very high and it will take some time to return to the bank’s target. The additional increase today aims to provide greater confidence in the return of inflation towards the target within a reasonable time frame.
The bank stressed that there may be a need for more tightening in monetary policy to ensure that inflation returns to the target, but it depends on how the data develops.
The reaction of the Australian dollar was positive, and the pair rose by more than 60 points against the US dollar, and is trading at 0.6666 levels, as the result of the meeting came in a big contradiction to the market’s expectations.