The members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy board said that the RBA may well keep its benchmark interest rate steady indefinitely, minutes from the central bank's March 4 meeting revealed on Tuesday.
The members said that the benchmark could be maintained for "some time" as long as it was warranted by the economic conditions.
"At recent meetings, the board had judged that it was prudent to leave the cash rate unchanged, while noting that the cash rate could remain at its current level for some time if the economy was to evolve broadly as expected," the minutes said.
The board said that the lower exchange rate for the Australian dollar was helping the economy and likely would continue to do so.
At the meeting, the RBA maintained its main cash rate at a record low 2.50 percent for a seventh successive month, and indicated a period of stability in monetary policy, as inflation pressures remained high.
"The pace of growth of Australia's major trading partners appeared to have remained around average. Domestically, timely indicators were consistent with some improvement in economic conditions over recent months, and there were further signs that the expansionary setting of monetary policy was having the desired effects. Indicators had been generally positive for consumption, housing investment, business conditions and exports," the minutes said.
RBA forecasts inflation to be in line with its 2-3 percent target over the next two years. The bank expects unemployment to rise further before it peaks.
The annual inflation rate advanced to 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter from 2.2 percent in the third quarter, nearing the upper end of the bank's target range. Sequentially, consumer prices rose 0.8 percent, after gaining 1.2 percent in the third quarter.
The RBA has reduced the cash rate by a cumulative 225 basis points since November 2011 to help the economy sustain demand in areas outside the resources sector in view of fading support from the mining boom.
"The board's judgment was that it would be appropriate to maintain the current stance of policy. The board would continue to examine the data over the period ahead, with members noting that, if the economy was to evolve broadly as expected, then the most prudent course was likely to be a period of stability in interest rates," the minutes said.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.