So says The Australian:
While the Reserve Bank did not change its cash rate yesterday, its monthly statement will help pave the way for the next round of mortgage rate increases.
“In Australia, short-term wholesale interest rates have increased in recent months,” governor Philip Lowe said in his statement.
“This is partly due to developments in the US, but there are other factors at work as well. It remains to be seen the extent to which these factors persist.”
The bank also said:
Nationwide measures of housing prices are little changed over the past six months. Conditions in the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets have eased, with prices declining in both markets. Housing credit growth has declined, with investor demand having slowed noticeably. Lending standards are tighter than they were a few years ago, with APRA’s supervisory measures helping to contain the build-up of risk in household balance sheets. Some further tightening of lending standards by banks is possible, although the average mortgage interest rate on outstanding loans has been declining for some time.
Which is rather odd. The average mortgage has gone up not down, using the RBA’s own data set:
I read this as somewhere between incoherence and the RBA’s desperate desire to not cut rates. To that extent it might be read as a green light for the banks to hike.
But it’s hardly decisive. If the RBA wanted higher rates it would hike itself.
