RBA's record low rate to hit one-year mark

The central bank has kept the cash rate unchanged at 2.5 per cent, and is expected to stay there for the remainder of 2014.

The Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney

The Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate at a record low of 2.5 per cent. (AAP)

The Reserve Bank's interest rate is set to notch up a year at record low levels, and is tipped to stay that way heading into 2015.

The central bank board held the cash rate steady at 2.5 per cent for the 11th consecutive month at its meeting on Tuesday.

While homeowners rejoiced, the Australian dollar hit a near three-month high of 94.51 US cents immediately after the decision was announced.

The RBA last changed the rate in August 2013, cutting it by a quarter of a percentage point.

And with the RBA seemingly in no rush to make any changes, economists expect the cash rate will remain on hold for a 12th month when its board next meets on August 5.

The central bank has only kept its cash rate unchanged for more than a year six times since it began publicly announcing its decisions in 1990.

But it has a while to go before it breaks its record on holding rates steady.

The longest the RBA has held the cash rate was for a year and eight months between late 1994 and mid 1996 when it was at 7.5 per cent.

Economists believe the next rate move will be up, but almost all say that won't happen before the end of 2014.

After the July meeting governor Glenn Stevens stuck by the stance he has held since the start of the year "the most prudent course is likely to be a period of stability in interest rates."

He said the economy is improving but it will be some time before unemployment drops consistently.

He also believes the low cash rate is helping support economic growth.

"Overall, the bank still expects growth to be a little below trend over the year ahead," Mr Stevens said.

Housing Industry Association senior economist Shane Garrett said low interest rates had helped fuel growth in the housing sector, which is tipped to take over from mining investment as the main driver of economic growth.

"We expect that rates will remain unchanged over the next number of months at least as unemployment remains too high and economic growth is below trend," he said.

RBC Capital Markets head of economics Su-Lin Ong said it's clear rates are on hold for the foreseeable future.

"The market was starting to think about rate cuts and priced in a greater probability of that," she said.

"That has probably been pared back a little by today's statement and hence the currency is firmer."

JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said the RBA's concerns about economic growth expressed in the June meeting were absent from the latest statement.

"There's been a bit of a change in the language around the exchange rate, which is not doing what the economy wants," he said.

"But for those who were looking for the RBA to go a bit harder on the currency language, they haven't really delivered that."


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