November 2018 Interest Rate Decision

For the 25th consecutive month, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left the official interest rate unchanged at 1.5% at their November 2018 meeting. If you’re anything like me and like to ‘nerd out’ on the RBA statement around their decision, you can read their statement here.

There were no real surprises this month with most experts predicting that November’s meeting would not yield any changes to the official interest rate. Considering that the rate has not moved for over two years now, it was unlikely that the RBA would choose Melbourne Cup day to make any adjustments.

Even though the official rate has not changed, we have seen lenders increase their interest rates out-of-cycle. These out-of-cycle increases reduce the need for the RBA to step in and adjust interest rates to influence the economy.

The RBA will next meet in December and most economists do not expect to see any changes to the official rate.

With the interest rate still at historic lows, we are seeing some stiff competition between lenders. There are unadvertised discounts and rebates on offer so be sure to contact your Pearl Financial mortgage broker to assess your opportunities.

Author: Shane