RBA says rates may have to rise if inflation persists

(Sharecast News) - Australia's central bank has ruled out any further rate cuts and warned rates could rise next year if rising inflation persists. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept the official cash rate unchanged at 3.6% - as expected. Governor Michelle Bullock said policy makers "didn't consider the case for a rate cut at all" during their December meeting.

Bullock's concerns have been fuelled by a recent consumer price index reading that came in hotter than expected. Official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed prices jumped to 3.8% in the year to October, well above the top end of the RBA's 2-3% target range.

"We didn't explicitly consider the case for a rate rise at this meeting, but we did consider and discuss quite a lot, the circumstances and what might need to happen, if we were to decide that interest rates had to rise at some point next year," she added.

"I don't think there are interest rate cuts on the horizon for the foreseeable future".

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com