Current circumstances won't persist:RBA

RBA governor Glenn Stevens does not believe a high Australian dollar and weaker non-mining investment will persist forever.

Glenn Stevens

Glenn Stevens doesn't believe the current circumstances facing the economy will persist forever. (AAP)

Glenn Stevens doesn't believe the current circumstances facing the economy will persist forever.

The Reserve Bank governor says it is hard to imagine that the "animal spirits" of business never recover, non-mining investment stays weak indefinitely and the foreign exchange rate stays this high.

"I would put that at a very low likelihood," Mr Stevens told the House of Representatives economic committee in Brisbane on Wednesday.

He said if these circumstances did persist the economy would be weaker than is presently forecast.

Asked if this did prove the case whether the economy would end up with an unemployment rate of seven per cent, Mr Stevens replied: "It would always be possible to construct a scenario that will deliver you that rate or even higher if you want to do so."

However, there has seen some improvement in employ growth this year and some leading indicators have turned up.

"You wouldn't call them strong but they seem ... (to be) getting better," he said.

"Prudently I'd say it will be a while yet before we can expect a sustained reduction in the employment rates."

The jobless rate rose to a 12-year high of 6.4 per cent in July.


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