Central Bank remains on hold: At its meeting on 17–18 July, the Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank of...
RBA Cash Rate in Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained relatively low policy rates for much of the last decade. Post-financial crisis, rates saw a cycle of lowering to support GDP growth, reaching historic lows during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, monetary policy was then tightened sharply, with the policy rate rising to over 4% through end-2024, as the RBA looked to ward off inflation. In 2025, the Bank has shifted towards normalizing policy amid easing price pressures.
The rba cash rate ended 2024 at 4.35%, compared to the end-2023 value of 4.35% and the figure a decade earlier of 2.50%. It averaged 1.98% over the last decade. For more interest rate information, visit our dedicated page.
Australia Interest Rate Chart
Note: This chart displays Policy Interest Rate (%) for Australia from 2014 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.
Australia Interest Rate Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBA Cash Rate (%, eop) | 0.10 | 0.10 | 3.10 | 4.35 | 4.35 |
| 90-Day Bank Bill (%, eop) | 0.02 | 0.06 | 3.17 | 4.35 | 4.44 |
| 10-Year Bond Yield (%, eop) | 0.97 | 1.67 | 4.03 | 3.96 | 4.37 |
Central Bank leaves rates unchanged in July
Latest bank decision: At its meeting on 8 July, the Central Bank decided to leave the cash rate target unchanged at 3.85%.
Bank in wait-and-see mode: The Bank decided to stay put to evaluate the impact of the 50 basis points of rate cuts delivered so far this year, in order to ensure inflation is on track to stabilize at the midpoint of the 2.0–3.0% target range before embarking on further cuts. This decision came in the context of the economy evolving broadly as the Bank expected, and with global uncertainty elevated due to U.S. tariff policy changes.
Monetary easing to resume: The Central Bank suggested it would cut rates further going forward, which chimes with our panelists’ forecasts of roughly 50 basis points of extra cuts by end-2025.
Panelist insight: On the outlook, EIU analysts said: “We […] expect the RBA to continue the interest-rate cutting cycle that it enacted in February and May with two further cuts before the end of 2025. It will then cut rates once more in early 2026 before switching to a neutral policy stance, given concerns over lingering inflationary pressures. By that point, the official cash rate will be at 3.1%—a level that we consider to be neutral.”
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Australian interest rate projections for the next ten years from a panel of 20 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable interest rate forecast available for Australian interest rate.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Australian interest rate projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Australian interest rate forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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