Two in five of Australia's chief financial officers now believe the Reserve Bank's cash rate will be lower this time next year, a new survey suggests.
Deloitte's latest CFO Sentiment report for the first half of 2017 has found 40 per cent expect the rate to fall within 12 months, while just one per cent think it will rise.
Those figures have changed significantly from six months ago, when 42 per cent of CFOs predicted higher rates and only six per cent thought they would fall.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate has remained on hold at 1.5 per cent since last August.
Deloitte CFO Program Leader Stephen Gustafson says continuing wage growth lows and weak pricing growth pressures may have contributed to the shift in expectations.
"Housing affordability is also seen as a key risk, and a housing price crash scenario is identified as a key consideration for CFOs' forward looking strategic planning," he said.
It comes after economists broadly said earlier this month they expected no move in the RBA's cash rate in 2017, with ANZ economists tipping no change until the end of 2018 and AMP having rates on hold until a possible hike in 2019.
More broadly, the latest CFO Sentiment report - which has tallied the views of more than 70 CFOs at major Australian listed companies - shows confidence is strong among the group, with 83 per cent optimistic about their companies' financial prospects.
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