Australia central bank likely on hold in September, rates seen at 0.5% by early 2020: Reuters poll

PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A worker pushing a trolley walks with pedestrians past the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) head office in central Sydney, Australia

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s central bank is all but certain to keep its cash rate at a record low of 1% next week though it will likely cut again two more times to boost inflation and support a stuttering economy, a Reuters poll showed.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) chopped its benchmark rate twice since June with an eye on unemployment which is slowly ticking higher. The cuts have prompted banks to lower mortgage rates, helping spark a welcome revival of the country’s subdued housing market.

The government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also chimed in, offering tax rebates to millions of households in a bid to spur consumer spending.

Still, economists and rates futures forecast more monetary stimulus, though not immediately.

All but one of 36 economists surveyed over the past week expect the RBA to hold the cash rate at its Sept. 3 monthly meeting. Barclays was the outlier, predicting a cut to 0.75%.