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Economic recovery is under way: RBA

Colin BrinsdenAAP
Reserve Bank Gov. Philip Lowe
Camera IconReserve Bank Gov. Philip Lowe Credit: Rick Rycroft/AP

The Reserve Bank has left its suite of monetary policy measures unchanged at its final board meeting of the year.

Economists had not expected anything new from the meeting after the central bank last month cut the rates to its growing number of policy measures.

This included a cut in the cash rate to a record low of 0.1 per cent.

It also entered into a quantitative easing program for the first time, announcing $100 billion of bond purchases over the next six months with the intent of keeping market interest rates low and, in turn, borrowing costs down.

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“In Australia, the economic recovery is under way and recent data have generally been better than expected,” Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe said in a statement following the meeting.

“This is good news, but the recovery is still expected to be uneven and drawn out and it remains dependent on significant policy support.”

Dr Lowe reiterated that given the outlook for both employment and inflation, monetary and fiscal support will be required for some time.

“The board is not expecting to increase the cash rate for at least three years,“ he said.

“The board will keep the size of the bond purchase program under review, particularly in light of the evolving outlook for jobs and inflation. The board is prepared to do more if necessary.”

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