Members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy board said that the country's economic recovery is moving at a gradual pace but continues to be on track, minutes from the bank's October 6 meeting revealed on Tuesday.
The rebalancing of the economy is being supported by the depreciation of the Australian dollar, the minutes said, with inflation expected to remain consistent with the target for at least the next year.
The main downside risk to the recovery is instability in the local property market, the bank said.
"The board judged that it was appropriate to leave the cash rate unchanged at this meeting. Information about economic and financial developments, both domestically and abroad, would continue to inform the board's assessment of the outlook," the minutes said.
At the meeting, the RBA decided to keep the cash rate unchanged at the record low 2.00 percent for the fifth straight month. The bank had lowered the rates by 25 basis points each in February and May.
At the next monetary policy in November, the bank is slated to review its growth and inflation forecasts. The economy expanded only 0.2 percent in the second quarter, following 0.9 percent growth posted in the first quarter.
"Reductions in the cash rate earlier in the year continued to provide support to aggregate demand, particularly dwelling investment and household consumption," the minutes said. Although growth remained somewhat below longer-term averages, the labor market showed stronger growth in employment and a steady jobless rate over the past year, the bank said. Overall, the economy is likely to be operating with a degree of spare capacity for some time yet, with domestic inflationary pressures contained, the bank said. The bank observed some further softening in conditions in China and East Asia. Key commodity prices were much lower than a year ago, partly reflecting increased supply.
"Below-average growth in the Asian region had been most evident in weak growth in industrial production, which had been mirrored in lower export volumes. While global commodity prices had fallen over the past year, they had been little changed over recent months," the minutes said.
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Forex News
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.