Australia’s economy is growing faster than expected — a positive sign for the broader economy, but one with potential consequences for mortgage holders.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Michele Bullock described Wednesday's gross domestic product (GDP) figure as "positive" and said "it's a little stronger than" the RBA's expectation, adding it might impact the bank's decision on interest rates.
"What it means for the future of interest rates? I don't know at this stage," Bullock said during a lecture at the University of Western Australia on Wednesday night.
"It's possible that if it keeps going, then there may not be many interest rate declines left to come, but it all depends."
Although some economists believe recent growth could influence interest rates, others argue that this will not change the RBA's plans.
'Minor surprise'
GDP has increased by 0.6 per cent over the three months to June 2025 and 1.8 per cent compared to the previous year, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday.
The figure was 0.1 per cent more than the forecast, something AMP chief economist Shane Oliver described as a "minor surprise".
"If it had come at 0.8 or 0.9, then it would be a lot, a lot more significant," he told SBS News.
"I suppose the surprise was mainly on consumer spending. It was certainly more than expected, but it was partly balanced by pretty soft investment numbers in there."
How could this impact interest rates?
While inflation is considered the key factor in the RBA's interest rate decisions, economic growth can also be a factor.
Oliver said: "Normally you cut interest rates to help an economy that is weak. Whereas if the economy is stronger than expected, then it may mean less of a case to cut interest rates."
In June, when GDP figures indicated that Australia's economy was slowing, there was speculation about potential interest rate cuts; now, the situation has reversed.
But independent economist Saul Eslake said the difference between the forecast and GDP rate is not "big enough" for the RBA to "alter their plans".
"The choice they had was do they cut rates quickly or gradually, and their view was that there's no reason to cut them quickly," he said.
"Yesterday's data will have reinforced their view that there's no urgency about cutting rates. You can still expect a rate cut in November, but there's no reason to expect one at the next meeting at the end of this month."
Eslake predicts there will be two rate cuts in the next six months — one in November and the other in February 2026.
Source: SBS News
The RBA board's remaining meetings this year are scheduled for late September and early November and December. It will announce its interest rate decision after each meeting.
'Material living standards on rise'
While there are concerns about how the growth will impact mortgage holders, GDP growth is generally considered good news for the economy.
Oliver said: "When you're seeing decent economic growth, it means that material living standards are probably on the rise."
"This doesn't necessarily mean people are happier, but at least their material living standards are on the rise.
"Whereas when growth is weak, then material living standards might deteriorate."
However, Oliver said the growth might "slide back", as the factors that impacted the GDP rise may not be present this quarter.
"We had the Easter-Anzac Day holiday, which was a period when many people took off as a holiday, and therefore they went and spent more, and we had the start of the new Nintendo Switch [video game console] ... " he said.
"All those things artificially boosted growth, and that may not be sustained."
On the other hand, the ABS data revealed that household spending grew by 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, following a 0.4 per cent increase in the March quarter.
The increase was mainly because of discretionary spending, which rose 1.4 per cent, whereas essential spending increased by 0.5 per cent.
Eslake said that "the signs for household consumption spending for the moment are encouraging".
He said inflation is falling faster than wage growth, and tax cuts that took effect in July and recent interest rate cuts have all impacted this trend.
"There are good reasons to think that all of those three trends are gonna continue for a while," he said.
"For the moment at least, there's no reason to think that that won't continue gradually to pick up."
