The RBA left the cash rate on hold at 0.1% at its September meeting, surprising no one..
The central bank has been telling everyone for some time now that it won’t consider a rate rise until at least 2024, even though some analysts are predicting it will hike earlier than this. And it also remains determined not to cut again and risk going into negative territory, though other analysts think negative interest rates are far more likely than an increase anytime soon.
“Prior to the Delta outbreak the Australian economy had considerable momentum,” RBA governor Philip Lowe said. “GDP increased by 0.7 per cent in the June quarter and by nearly 10 per cent over the year. Business investment was picking up and the labour market had strengthened. The unemployment rate had fallen below 5 per cent and job vacancies were at a high level.”
Lowe said Australia’s economic recovery had been “interrupted by the Delta outbreak and the associated restrictions on activity” and that he expected a decline in GDP in the next quarter and a rise in unemployment.
However he said some areas are “continuing to grow strongly” and the setback to the economic expansion “is expected to be only temporary.”
Taper the talk of the town
Much of the contention and anticipation in the lead up to the meeting had all been about whether the RBA would taper down its buying of bonds from $5 billion a week to $4 billion a week.
September was the month it planned to make that reduction, but there had been widespread debate from forecasters and major lenders about whether it would actually happen.
On one side of the coin, NAB was predicting it would continue with the reduction as planned. On the other side, ANZ anticipated a month’s delay to get a better idea of when and what lockdown restrictions might be lifted or eased in major cities. Most analysts expect a strong post-lockdown economic rebound, which could come this year or next year.
So what was the call?
Spoiler alert, the RBA surprised quite a few when it decided to stick to its plan.
“The Board’s decision to extend the bond purchases at $4 billion a week until at least February 2022 reflects the delay in the economic recovery and the increased uncertainty associated with the Delta outbreak,” Lowe said. “These bond purchases, together with the low level of the cash rate, the yield target and the funding that has been provided under the Term Funding Facility, are providing substantial and ongoing support to the Australian economy.”
Banks battle for borrowers
Continued uncertainty is a win for would-be borrowers, with banks dropping variable rates in a bid to attract new customers.
Fixed home loan rates may continue to rise, but in a further show that we won’t have to worry about higher variable mortgage payments for a long time yet, RateCity research found the number of variable rates under 2% in the market has leapt from 28 products to 46 in just 2 months.
The 68% increase has happened in spite of there being no official rate movement since November last year.
“Since COVID, the battleground for the banks has been fixed rates. However, with record numbers of customers now locked in, some lenders are shifting their sights to variable rates,” RateCity research director Sally Tindall said, adding that ABS data showed refinancing hit another record high in July with $17.22 billion in loans settled for the month. “The latest surge in refinancing is putting pressure on the banks to keep their rates competitive.
“Banks need to be winning new business, not losing it, if they want their loan books to keep moving in the right direction.
“Well over half of all mortgage holders are still on a variable rate. That’s a huge market of potential refinancers for the banks to target.”
Reach out for a better deal
Each month, regardless of what the RBA decides to do, there are deals out there to be made. It’s a great time to be a borrower and it’s rare that your current deal is the best one available to you. Reach out to Zinger Finance and our team of financial strategists can help you build a strategy for structuring your finance and find the deals that suit you best.
