RBA’s Lowe: Board has judged it appropriate to raise rates at a slower pace

“Board has judged it appropriate to raise rates at a slower pace,” Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said in his scheduled appearance on Tuesday.

Additional quotes

Rates have been increased by a large amount in a very short period of time.

Higher interest rates affect the economy with a lag.

Need to strike the right balance between doing too much and too little.

Rates will need to go higher but we are not on a pre-set path.

We will return to larger rate increases if that is needed.

Equally, we will hold rates steady for a while if situation requires it.

Board discussed consequences and costs of not raising rates.

Not hiking would allow inflation to become entrenched in expectations.

High inflation is a scourge, board will ensure it is only temporary.

To very carefully watch how economy, inflation evolve over the summer.

We are taking into account pressure of higher rates, inflation on household budgets.

We can’t ignore the difficult global environment.