The benchmark interest rate in Australia was last recorded at 4.10 percent. This dataset provides - Australia Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

A comparison of the Australian target cash rate and the overnight interbank lending rate shows that, after around a decade of being identical, the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to the actual overnight lending rate being lower than the Reserve Bank of Australia's target rate. This means that banks are lending to each other at lower rates than the "official" interest rate. One reason for this is the that the Reserve bank has made money available to banks in several new ways over this period (such as repo agreements where banks can pledge assets for short term funds), increasing liquidity in the banking system. As of May 2024, the overnight interbank cash rate and the target cash rate stood at 4.32 and 4.35 percent, respectively.

In January 2025, global inflation rates and central bank interest rates showed significant variation across major economies. Most economies initiated interest rate cuts from mid-2024 due to declining inflationary pressures. The U.S., UK, and EU central banks followed a consistent pattern of regular rate reductions throughout late 2024. In early 2025, Russia maintained the highest interest rate at 21 percent, while Japan retained the lowest at 0.5 percent. Varied inflation rates across major economies The inflation landscape varies considerably among major economies. China had the lowest inflation rate at 0.5 percent in January 2025. In contrast, Russia maintained a high inflation rate of 9.9 percent. These figures align with broader trends observed in early 2025, where China had the lowest inflation rate among major developed and emerging economies, while Russia's rate remained the highest. Central bank responses and economic indicators Central banks globally implemented aggressive rate hikes throughout 2022-23 to combat inflation. The European Central Bank exemplified this trend, raising rates from 0 percent in January 2022 to 4.5 percent by September 2023. A coordinated shift among major central banks began in mid-2024, with the ECB, Bank of England, and Federal Reserve initiating rate cuts, with forecasts suggesting further cuts through 2025 and 2026.

In a survey conducted in November 2024, around 60 percent of homeowners with a mortgage stated that they are prepared for mortgage interest rates to remain at the current level into next year before potential rate cuts start. In contrast, approximately 28 percent of homeowners and 22 percent of investors claimed that they were not.

Mortgage interest rates worldwide varied greatly in 2024, from less than four percent in many European countries, to as high as 44 percent in Turkey. The average mortgage rate in a country depends on the central bank's base lending rate and macroeconomic indicators such as inflation and forecast economic growth. Since 2022, inflationary pressures have led to rapid increase in mortgage interest rates. Which are the leading mortgage markets? An easy way to estimate the importance of the mortgage sector in each country is by comparing household debt depth, or the ratio of the debt held by households compared to the county's GDP. In 2023, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada had some of the highest household debt to GDP ratios worldwide. While this indicator shows the size of the sector relative to the country’s economy, the value of mortgages outstanding allows to compare the market size in different countries. In Europe, for instance, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France were the largest mortgage markets by outstanding mortgage lending. Mortgage lending trends in the U.S. In the United States, new mortgage lending soared in 2021. This was largely due to the growth of new refinance loans that allow homeowners to renegotiate their mortgage terms and replace their existing loan with a more favorable one. Following the rise in interest rates, the mortgage market cooled, and refinance loans declined.

The house price-to-income ratio in Australia was 122.1 as of the third quarter of 2024. This ratio, calculated by dividing nominal house prices by nominal disposable income per head, increased from the previous quarter. The price-to-income ratio can be used to measure housing affordability in a specific area. Australia's property bubble There has been considerable debate over the past decade about whether Australia is in a property bubble or not. A property bubble refers to a sharp increase in the price of property that is disproportional to income and rental prices, followed by a decline. In Australia, rising house prices have undoubtedly been an issue for many potential homeowners, pricing them out of the market. Along with the average house price, high mortgage interest rates have exacerbated the issue. Is the homeownership dream out of reach? Housing affordability has varied across the different states and territories in Australia. In 2024, the median value of residential houses was the highest in Sydney compared to other major Australian cities, with Brisbane becoming an increasingly expensive city. Nonetheless, expected interest rate cuts in 2025, alongside the expansion of initiatives to improve Australia's dwelling stock, social housing supply, and first-time buyer accessibility to properties, may start to improve the situation. These encompass initiatives such as the Australian government's Help to Buy scheme and the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility (HAFFF) and National Housing Accord Facility (NHAF) programs.

Key information about Australia Real Effective Exchange Rate

• Australia Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER: 2005=100: Month Avg: Australia) was 100.3 in Jan 2025, compared with the number of 101.1 in the previous month.
• Australia Real Effective Exchange Rate data is updated monthly and averaged 126.8 from Jan 1994 to Jan 2025.
• The data reached an all-time high of 126.8 in Aug 2012 and a record low of 73.6 in Mar 2001.

CEIC generates Real Effective Exchange Rate Index with base 2005=100. Bank for International Settlements provides Real Effective Exchange Rate Index with base 2020=100. CPI is used as a deflator. An increase in REER indicates reduced competitiveness for the reporting economy.


Related information about Australia Real Effective Exchange Rate

• In the latest reports, Australia Short Term Interest Rate: Month End: Bank Acceptance Bills Rates: 90 days was reported at 4.2 % pa in Jan 2025.
• The cash rate (Policy Rate: Month End: Cash Target Rate) was set at 4.3 % pa in Jan 2025.
• Australia Exchange Rate against USD averaged 1.5 (USD/AUD) in Jun 2023.

The Debt Collection industry's performance tends to improve when economic conditions are weak, as these factors can elevate business bankruptcies and cause more households to default on loans. On the other hand, a strong economy and tight lending practices can dampen debt collection agencies' performance. Households and businesses pay down debts when the economy is performing well, while tighter lending practices leads to better loans that are less likely to default.While economic conditions weakened in the COVID-19 outbreak's aftermath, the government provided businesses with assistance via stimulus measures to ensure that they could remain in operation. This factor dampened business bankruptcies during the pandemic, dulling demand for debt collection services. Long-term drops in business bankruptcies, the household debt to assets ratio and the ratio of credit card debt to discretionary income have cut into industry profit margins. Despite these trends, debt collection agencies are starting to recover. Inflationary pressures have been ramping up, and the RBA has been raising the cash rate consistently to combat this climb. Resulting rises in interest rates and the cost of borrowing have made it more likely for households and businesses to accumulate bad debt. Revenue is expected to fall at an annualised 7.1% to an estimated $1.2 billion over the five years through 2023-24. However, this trend includes an expected rise of 9.4% in 2023-24, as recovering demand for debt collection services has sparked improved performance.Debt collection agencies' performance is set to keep recovering over the next few years. Climbing interest rates will lift the ratio of interest payments to disposable income, making it more likely that downstream markets will seek out debt collection services. Agencies are also likely to improve their profit margins; many debt collectors are implementing process automation via web portals, which can improve productivity and automate communications functions like sending emails and messages. Growth opportunities are also on track to arise for debt collectors, as more companies will be outsourcing receivables management to specialists in the industry – particularly companies in the finance, insurance, banking and telecommunications sectors. Overall, revenue is forecast to climb at an annualised 1.1% to an estimated $1.3 billion over the five years through 2028-29, reflecting the industry's improved operating conditions.

Retail property operators have endured highly volatile trading conditions in the past five years. Online shopping’s immense popularity has constrained demand for traditional bricks-and-mortar locations. This reduced demand for physical shopping has presented an issue for retail property operators despite a boost in overall demand for retail trade. With lower in-person sales, some retailers have reduced their instore presence and opted for an increased digital presence. This strategy minimises rent costs for these companies and minimises wage costs, as they no longer need to keep as many retail assistants on the books. Retailers have also had to contend with increasing interest rates, putting pressure on households and resulting in reduced spending on non-essential retailing. However, relief may be on the horizon as business confidence and consumer sentiment are forecast to recover. Some models imply that the worst inflation rates are behind us and that a rate cut may occur in early 2025. In the past, sustained periods of low interest rates have supported the development and supply of retail properties for operators to purchase and lease. However, these periods of affordable loans have given way to increased rates, stifling investment and reducing the number of new properties available. Compared to an abnormally low base year of 2019-20, industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualised 4.7% through the end of 2024-25 and total $42.7 billion, down by an anticipated 0.3% on the previous year. Profit margins have also declined alongside revenue. In the coming years, online shopping will continue to take market share from physical locations, reducing revenue for the Retail Property Operators industry by a forecast annualised 1.1% for the five years through 2029-30, leaving revenue at an estimated $40.4 billion. Retail property managers will be able to mitigate some of the impacts of online shopping growth by focusing on tenants that can’t sell their products or services online, like gyms, beauty salons or wine bars.

Australia 10Y Bond Yield was 4.51 percent on Wednesday March 26, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Australia 10-Year Government Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

Bank Bill Swap Rate in Australia remained unchanged at 4.11 percent on Wednesday March 26. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Australia Bank Bill Swap Rate.

In a survey conducted in 2022, 32 percent of homeowner mortgage holders stated that they felt that they would need to cut their living costs further in order to be able to afford higher interest rates in 2023. Conversely, 32 percent of investors with a mortgage felt that they were ahead on their loan repayments and had built a buffer, to be able to afford higher interest rates.

As of December 30, 2024, the major economy with the highest yield on 10-year government bonds was Turkey, with a yield of 27.38 percent. This is due to the risks investors take when investing in Turkey, notably due to high inflation rates potentially eradicating any profits made when using a foreign currency to investing in securities denominated in Turkish lira. Of the major developed economies, United States had one the highest yield on 10-year government bonds at this time with 4.59 percent, while Switzerland had the lowest at 0.27 percent. How does inflation influence the yields of government bonds? Inflation reduces purchasing power over time. Due to this, investors seek higher returns to offset the anticipated decrease in purchasing power resulting from rapid price rises. In countries with high inflation, government bond yields often incorporate investor expectations and risk premiums, resulting in comparatively higher rates offered by these bonds. Why are government bond rates significant? Government bond rates are an important indicator of financial markets, serving as a benchmark for borrowing costs, interest rates, and investor sentiment. They affect the cost of government borrowing, influence the price of various financial instruments, and serve as a reflection of expectations regarding inflation and economic growth. For instance, in financial analysis and investing, people often use the 10-year U.S. government bond rates as a proxy for the longer-term risk-free rate.

At the end of 2023, Zimbabwe had the highest inflation rate in the world, at 667.36 percent change compared to the previous year. Inflation in industrialized and in emerging countries Higher inflation rates are more present in less developed economies, as they often lack a sufficient central banking system, which in turn results in the manipulation of currency to achieve short term economic goals. Thus, interest rates increase while the general economic situation remains constant. In more developed economies and in the prime emerging markets, the inflation rate does not fluctuate as sporadically. Additionally, the majority of countries that maintained the lowest inflation rate compared to previous years are primarily oil producers or small island independent states. These countries experienced deflation, which occurs when the inflation rate falls below zero; this may happen for a variety of factors, such as a shift in supply or demand of goods and services, or an outflow of capital.

Le taux d'intérêt de référence au Chili a été enregistré pour la dernière fois à 5 pour cent. Les valeurs actuelles, des données historiques, des prévisions, des statistiques, des tableaux et le calendrier économique - Chili - Taux d'intérêt.