Daily Forex

Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Analyst
The Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates on hold at 3% as expected but said that there is still “scope for further easing of monetary policy” and identified credit conditions and the effects of economic weakness on asset quality as “a challenge”. May’s UK industrial production report headlines the calendar in European hours.


The Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates on hold at 3%, as expected. In the statement accompanying the announcement, Governor Glenn Stevens sounded notably more aloof compared to recent months, saying that “credit conditions remain tight and the effects of economic weakness on asset quality present a challenge.” Stevens added that the bank sees “the outlook for inflation allows some scope for further easing of monetary policy, if needed…[and will] monitor how economic and financial conditions unfold and how they impinge on prospects for a sustainable recovery in economic activity.” The RBA chief also noted that firmer growth in China has helped Australia and noted tentative evidence the US is approaching a “turning point”, though Europe is “still weakening”. Stevens concluded that a durable recovery is contingent on “continued progress in restoring balance sheets.”