Don't bet on an interest rate cut this week.
The Reserve Bank will want to keep its powder dry in case Australia's challenges build even further.
That's the prediction of prominent economist Chris Richardson.
The director of independent forecaster Deloitte Access Economics expects the RBA's cash rate will remain steady at an all-time low at 2.5 per cent for now rather than heading lower.
This is partly due to the drop in the Australian dollar taking a lot of pressure off the economy.
"Central banks such as the Reserve Bank worry more about rates being too low than they do about them being too high," Mr Richardson says in his quarterly Business Outlook.
Even so, he says inflation risks are minimal, economic growth is below trend and housing prices are becoming less of a concern for the RBA.
Lower commodity prices mean the drop off in mining-related construction will be bigger and may even trim back the current surge in the volume of resource exports.
The potential hit from this on the nation's income will place the federal government's budget under extra pressure.
"The RBA will want to keep some of its powder dry in case Australia's challenges were to mount further," Mr Richardson says.
The RBA will hold its first board meeting of the year on Tuesday.
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