Today the independent Reserve Bank left interest rates on hold at 3.85 per cent.
It’s not the result millions of Australians were hoping for or what the market was expecting.
We have made substantial and sustained progress on inflation which is why interest rates have already been cut twice in five months this year.
We’ve seen elsewhere that when central banks cut rates, they don’t always cut at every meeting.
The RBA has indicated the direction of travel on inflation and interest rates has been established.
The latest monthly inflation figures showed that both headline and underlying inflation were in the bottom half of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target band for the first time since August 2021.
Underlying monthly inflation has been in the RBA’s target band for six consecutive months and is at its lowest level since November 2021.
On the official quarterly figures, both headline and underlying inflation has already returned to the RBA’s target band for the first time since 2021.
Headline inflation was 6.1 per cent when we came to office, it’s now 2.4 per cent.
Under Labor, inflation is down substantially, real wages are up, unemployment is low, our economy is growing, and interest rates have come down twice, but the job’s not done because people are still under pressure.
Our economic plan is all about easing the cost of living and getting on top of inflation while maintaining jobs and that’s what we’re seeing in our economy.
Unlike other countries that have faced recessions and job losses, we’ve managed to get inflation down without sacrificing the gains we’ve made in our labour market.
We recognise that people are still under pressure and there’s more work to do in our economy and that’s why the cost‑of‑living relief that we’re rolling out right now is so important.
The global economy is uncertain and unpredictable but the progress we’ve made together means we’re well placed and well prepared to weather the storm.
We are managing this difficult global environment at the same time as we are building a more sustainable, productive and resilient economy.