The Reserve Bank of Australia raises interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by 25 basis points to reach 2.85%, as expected in the bank’s meeting, which was held this morning, Tuesday, the first of November, to reach interest levels to their highest levels since 2013.
The interest statement issued by the Bank stated that inflation in Australia is very high, as is the case in most countries, where the consumer price index reached 7.3% levels in September on an annual basis, which is the highest level in three decades, and is expected to continue its rise in the coming months and reach its peak at 8% later in the year.
The council expects inflation to start declining next year and to reach 4.75% in 2023 and just above 3% in 2024. The Council, in turn, lowered its forecast for the growth of the Australian economy to 3% this year and 1.5% in the next two years The bank confirmed that it is committed to returning inflation to the bank’s target range of 2-3%, stressing that there are strong increases in interest rates in the coming period, and the size and timing of the increases will be determined through the data received.
The reaction of the Australian dollar was negative as the markets were expecting to raise by 25 basis points, as the Australian dollar is trading against the US dollar this morning at 0.6430 levels.