Australia’s Official Cash Rate: Bloomberg Survey Table

The Reserve Bank of Australia will keep its overnight cash rate target at 4.5 percent when its decision is announced in Sydney on Dec. 6 at 2:30 p.m., according to 23 of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Two economists have forecast a further 25 basis point reduction in the offical benchmark. Following is a table showing economists’ forecasts:

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                       Dec. 6    Q1-12    Q2-12    Q3-12    Q4-12
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Median                  4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
High                    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.75%    5.00%
Low Forecast            4.25%    4.25%    4.00%    3.75%    3.75%
Replies at Median          23       13       13       11       10
No of replies              25       25       25       25       25
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4Cast                   4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
AMP                     4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
ANZ                     4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
Ausbil Dexia            4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.75%    4.75%
Barclays Capital        4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
BT Financial            4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
BNP Paribas             4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
CBA                     4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
Citi                    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.75%
Credit Suisse           4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
Deutsche Bank           4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
HSBC                    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
Goldman Sachs           4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
J.P. Morgan             4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
Macquarie               4.50%    4.25%    4.00%    3.75%    3.75%
Moody’s Economy.com     4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
NAB                     4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
Nomura                  4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.75%    5.00%
RBC Capital Markets     4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
RBS                     4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
St. George              4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
TD Securities           4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
Thomson IFR             4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%    4.50%
UBS                     4.50%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%    4.25%
Westpac                 4.50%    4.25%    4.00%    3.75%    3.75%
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Source: Survey conducted by Bloomberg News, Sydney

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Petrie in Sydney at dpetrie5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Marco Babic in Zurich at mbabic@bloomberg.net