On the first Tuesday of each month the RBA decides on the Official Cash Rate, which is the overnight money market interest rate.
Any changes in this rate will normally signal changes in the Mortgage lending rates.
The rate on Tuesday 7th June 2011 was again kept at 4.75%, which has not changed since November 2010.
The recent rate changes (last 2 years) have been:
- 3 Nov 2010 +0.25 4.75%
- 5 May 2010 +0.25 4.50%
- 7 Apr 2010 +0.25 4.25%
- 3 Mar 2010 +0.25 4.00%
- 2 Dec 2009 +0.25 3.75%
- 4 Nov 2009 +0.25 3.50%
- 7 Oct 2009 +0.25 3.25%
- 8 Apr 2009 -0.25 3.00%
The current rate of 4.75% has now been unchanged for 216 days.
Previous longer periods of unchanged rates have been:
- 595 days at 7.50% From 14-Dec-94
- 518 days at 4.75% From 5-Jun-02
- 490 days at 5.00% From 30-Jul-97
- 455 days at 5.25% From 3-Dec-03
- 427 days at 5.50% From 2-Mar-05
- 383 days at 4.75% From 30-Jul-93
- 336 days at 4.75% From 2-Dec-98
- 273 days at 6.25% From 8-Nov-06
- 258 days at 5.75% From 8-Jul-92
The average rate, from 1990 to today, works out at 5.87%, so another 4 or 5 increases, of 0.25 each, will bring us back to an average rate over the last 20 years.