Australia keeps rates at 3%, more cuts unlikelyAustralia's central bank left interest rates unchanged at a 49-year low of 3.0 percent for the fourth successive month on Tuesday and indicated further cuts were unlikely. The Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 to operate as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. The bank offers banking services to the Federal Government, and to licensed banks that participate in the payments system. (RBA RBA Rare Bird Alert RBA Reserve Bank of Australia RBA Run Book Automation RBA Rochester Business Alliance RBA Rights-Based Approach RBA Royal Brunei Airlines (ICAO code) RBA Relative Byte Address RBA relative binding affinity ) removed earlier references to "further easing" in an upbeat assessment of the domestic economy, which has weathered the downturn with the best performance of any advanced country. "Economic conditions in Australia have been stronger than expected a few months ago, with both consumer spending Consumer demand or consumption is also known as personal consumption expenditure. It is the largest part of aggregate demand or effective demand at the macroeconomic level. and exports notable for their resilience resilience (r  ·zilˑ·yens),n ," bank governor Glenn Stevens Glenn Stevens is an Australian economist and the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Stevens was born in Sydney in 1958. He was educated at the University of Sydney where he received a first class honours degree in economics. said. "Measures of confidence have recovered a good deal of ground. This suggests that the risk of a severe contraction in the Australian economy has abated Abated, an ancient technical term applied in masonry and metal work to those portions which are sunk beneath the surface, as in inscriptions where the ground is sunk round the letters so as to leave the letters or ornament in relief. From 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica ." Stevens has indicated the next rates move will be upwards in Australia, which is the only major Western nation to avoid a recession, defined by consecutive quarters of negative growth. The central bank has slashed the cash rate from 7.25 percent last September in an aggressive round of easing aimed at helping Australia fight off the worst global slump since the Great Depression. "The most likely outcome in the near term is a period of sluggish output, with consumer spending likely to slow somewhat and investment remaining weak," Stevens said. "Stronger dwelling activity and public spending will start to provide more support to overall demand soon, and growth is likely to firm into 2010." Analysts tipped a rate rise next year, when unemployment is also predicted to increase, with official forecasts saying joblessness of 5.8 percent will hit 8.5 percent by mid-2011. "The bottom line is the Reserve Bank is no longer talking about interest rate cuts," Commsec analyst Craig James Craig James may refer to:
"Given he's (Stevens) now removed the easing bias, the next move will almost certainly be up. The question is in terms of the timing." 
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