正文
THE Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left the official cash rate unchanged at 6.75 per cent, leaving it up to commercial banks and lenders to turn the screws on homeowners
While the central bank is sitting on its hands for now, retail banks have indicated they will raise home loan interest rates anyway to cover wholesale borrowing costs - rising because of the credit crisis in the US and the knock-on effect on the rest of the world.
Adelaide Bank is already moving. From today it will raise rates on select home loans by 25 basis points.
The South Australian bank will add 25 basis points to the rate on some of the loans it supplies to mortgage brokers, who are expected to pass the rise on to borrowers.
The move by Adelaide is an ominous sign that the four major banks are also poised to (independently) lift their sacrosanct variable mortgage rate in the not too distant future,\'\' RBC Capital Markets senior economist Su-Lin Ong said yesterday.
The RBA raised the official rate 25 babsis points during the election campaign last month.
It was the 10th time the central bank had raised the official cash rate in the past five years.
That rise pushed variable home loan rates to an 11-year high of 8.57 per cent.
The breather provided by the central bank this month is expected to be a short, with economists tipping another 25 basis-point rise to be pushed through in February, with the possibility of a second rise by May.
The RBA does not meet in January.
Economic data released since the last RBA meeting has been a bit of a mixed bag.
Yesterday, weaker than expected monthly growth in retail spending and residential building indicated the economy may be slowing slightly.
But figures out earlier this week from TD Securities-Melbourne Institute showed that underlying annual inflation was up 3.6 per cent – well above the RBA’s target bank of 2 to 3 per cent growth.
The housing sector is already feeling the pinch, with new home sales rising only 0.8 per cent in October, according to a Housing Industry Association survey.
While the central bank is sitting on its hands for now, retail banks have indicated they will raise home loan interest rates anyway to cover wholesale borrowing costs - rising because of the credit crisis in the US and the knock-on effect on the rest of the world.
Adelaide Bank is already moving. From today it will raise rates on select home loans by 25 basis points.
The South Australian bank will add 25 basis points to the rate on some of the loans it supplies to mortgage brokers, who are expected to pass the rise on to borrowers.
The move by Adelaide is an ominous sign that the four major banks are also poised to (independently) lift their sacrosanct variable mortgage rate in the not too distant future,\'\' RBC Capital Markets senior economist Su-Lin Ong said yesterday.
The RBA raised the official rate 25 babsis points during the election campaign last month.
It was the 10th time the central bank had raised the official cash rate in the past five years.
That rise pushed variable home loan rates to an 11-year high of 8.57 per cent.
The breather provided by the central bank this month is expected to be a short, with economists tipping another 25 basis-point rise to be pushed through in February, with the possibility of a second rise by May.
The RBA does not meet in January.
Economic data released since the last RBA meeting has been a bit of a mixed bag.
Yesterday, weaker than expected monthly growth in retail spending and residential building indicated the economy may be slowing slightly.
But figures out earlier this week from TD Securities-Melbourne Institute showed that underlying annual inflation was up 3.6 per cent – well above the RBA’s target bank of 2 to 3 per cent growth.
The housing sector is already feeling the pinch, with new home sales rising only 0.8 per cent in October, according to a Housing Industry Association survey.
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