RBA Holds Key Rate as Economy Withstands Global Slowdown
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Australia maintained the highest benchmark interest rate among major developed economies as domestic demand weathers a global slowdown that’s driving down the price of iron ore, the nation’s biggest commodity export.
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens and his board left the overnight cash-rate target at 3.5 percent, according to a statement today in Sydney. While domestic consumption was “quite firm” in the first half of the year, commodity prices have fallen “sharply” in recent months and China’s growth outlook is more uncertain, he said.