03.02.202105:36:00UTC+00RBA Chief Says Premature To Consider Withdrawal Of Monetary Stimulus

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said the monetary support should be maintained for some time to come and it would be premature to withdraw the stimulus.

He said that very significant monetary support will need to be maintained for some time to come. It is going to be some years before the goals for inflation and unemployment are achieved.

"So it is premature to be considering withdrawal of the monetary stimulus," Lowe added.

On Tuesday, the RBA had left its cash rate unchanged at a record low of 0.10 percent and raised the asset purchase programme by A$100 billion.

Lowe said the bank has no appetite to go into negative territory and has done as much as it reasonably can with interest rates.

Before increasing the cash rate, the Board wants to see inflation sustainably within the 2 to 3 percent target range. Meeting this condition will require a tighter labor market and stronger wages growth than the current forecast, he noted.

The governor does not expect to see these conditions to be met before 2024. So the interest rates are going to be low for quite a while yet, Lowe added.