Rates cut by 25 basis points
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut the cash interest rate by 25 basis points following its board meeting on Tuesday.
The cash rate has been lowered to 3.00 per cent, from 3.25 per cent, to a 49-year low.
The cash rate is now at its lowest level since March 1960 when the monthly average rate was 2.99 per cent.
'At its meeting today, the board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.00 per cent, effective 8 April 2009,' RBA governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement published after the decision was announced at 1430 AEST.
Economists had been divided over whether the central bank would cut rates after its board meeting in Brisbane, or leave the cash rate unchanged this month.
The RBA did not cut in March, saying it wanted to wait and see the impact of earlier rate cuts and federal government's fiscal stimulus initiatives on the economy.
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