RBA left cash rate unchanged at 0.25% as widely expected. The target for 3-year AGS was also kept at 0.25%. On the other hand, it decided to increase the size of the Term Funding Facility to around AUD 200B. Also, the access to facility will also be extended. It also pledged to maintain “highly accommodative settings as long as is required”. It “will not increase the cash rate target until progress is being made towards full employment and it is confident that inflation will be sustainably within the 2–3 per cent target band.”
On the economy, RBA reiterated that the downside is “not as severe as earlier expected”. But recovery is “both uneven and bumpy” with outbreak in Victoria having a “major effect” of the state’s economy. Unemployment and underemployment “remain high” and it’s “likely to be some months” before a meaningful recovery in labor market takes place. Wages and price prices pressures also “remain subdued” and “likely to continue for some time”.
RBA also acknowledged that “US dollar has depreciated against most currencies over recent months. Given this and higher commodity prices, the Australian dollar has appreciated, to be around its highest level in nearly two years.”
