Glenn Stevens Lowered

Australia's business confidence slumped in February to reach the lowest level in at least five-month, as the currency’s strength and the central bank’s unexpected decision to pause interest-rate cuts weakened sentiment. The Australian economy issued February's NAB business conditions, where it rose to 3 compared with the prior month's reading of 2. Yet, the NAB business confidence in February retreated to 1 compared with the prior month's reading of 4. Moreover, the Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens lowered the overnight cash rate by a quarter percentage point twice on November 1 and December 6, before keeping the benchmark unchanged for the past two meetings at 4.25 percent. Also, employment rate in Australia stalled last year as the currency’s climb hurt non-resource ...

The Australian retail sales surprisingly dropped in December, which is the first drop in six months, as consumers spent less at grocers and on dining out in an economy where employment growth stalled last year. The Australian bureau of statistics released the seasonally adjusted reading for the retail sales index, where it fell 0.1%, compared with the prior month’s reading of 0.0%, which was revised to 0.1%; also it missed expectations of 0.2%. On the other hand, the forth-quarter figures for the retail sales index excluding inflation, which has a moderate scale for the Australian economic growth, plunged to 0.4% compared with the prior reading of 0.6%, which was revised to 0.5%; below expectations of 0.6%. Spending at cafes and restaurants fell 1.8%, and consumers spent 0.7% less at ...

The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its benchmark interest rate this month amid the current global risks that is spooked by the escalating European sovereign debt crisis, where it cut the interest rate by 25 basis points to reach 4.25% as it considered a historic level for the nation's lending rate. The nation's economy is growing modestly and broadly in line with trend as the RBA's members concluded that global growth will likely to witness further weaken over the coming year. RBA Governor Glenn Stevens and his board reduced the benchmark interest rate by 25 points on November first and again this month they cut the interest rate by another quarter percentage to reach 4.25% as the inflation pressures were eased and the global economic risks were increased. Also, they are considering ...