Australia central banker says rates could stay low until ’24

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank governor says the nation’s benchmark interest rate could remain at a record low until 2024 despite pandemic-induced inflation. Philip Lowe told a Sydney forum of economists the Reserve Bank of Australia board does not plan to lift the cash rate until inflation settles in the target range of 2%-to-3%, which is likely in late 2023.  Lowe says a first increase, from 0.1% in 2024, is “still plausible.” Australia’s inflation rate has risen as have prices in many parts of the world as economies bounce back from the pandemic, but such pressures are less pronounced than in many other countries.