The Reserve Bank of Australia March policy decision is due on the 19th – ‘on hold’ preview

The Bank of Japan hand down their decision on the same day, and that meeting is ‘live’.

As for the RBA, on hold is the unanimous expectation in the latest poll:

• Reserve Bank of Australia expected to keep its 4.35% cash rate unchanged until September

ING snippet:

• the RBA is still way off the point of considering rate cuts, and the RBA maintained a faint bias towards tightening at the last meeting, even if this was watered down a bit.
• Since then, the run of data has been quite helpful to those talking up the prospect of more and earlier rate cuts, with lower-than-expected inflation and some signs of a slowdown in the macro numbers, including GDP and the labour market.
• It would be a very stark signal if the RBA were to remove that bias at its March meeting, and it may be worried that this would send too strong a signal at this stage.
• However, some further watering down and hints about a move towards neutrality might be in order.

Those times above are Sydney times.

2.30 pm is:

• 0330 GMT, 2330 US Eastern time

3.30 pm is … well, an hour later 😉

• 0430 GMT and 0030 US Eastern time

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.