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RBA keeps rates on hold - April 2015

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By Reporter
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2 minute read

The Reserve Bank of Australia has elected to keep the official cash rate on hold at 2.25 per cent.

RBA governor Glenn Stevens shocked market participants in February by announcing a cut to the cash rate, taking it to its current historical low.

In notes from the RBA's March board meeting, Mr Stevens said it was "appropriate to hold interest rates steady for the time being".

BT chief economist Chris Caton correctly predicted the RBA would stay its hand in April.

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"There's another cut out there, but May makes more sense [because it is] post-Consumer Price Index," Mr Caton said.

But Westpac chief economist Bill Evans, who correctly called the February cut, expected the RBA to cut again today.

"We have consistently argued that the case has already been made for a second rate cut to follow the February move," Mr Evans said.

The RBA Shadow Board, run by the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA) at the Australian National University, unanimously recommended that rates stay 'on hold' in April.

"The Shadow Board recommends with confidence that the cash rate be held at its current level of 2.25 per cent," a statement by CAMA said.

The [Shadow] Board attaches a 64 per cent probability to this being the appropriate policy setting," it said.