The benchmark interest rate in Australia was last recorded at 3.60 percent. This dataset provides - Australia Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) cash rate target in-part determines interest rates on financial products.

Exchange Rate: RBA: UK Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar data was reported at 0.479 AUD/GBP in Apr 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.485 AUD/GBP for Mar 2025. Exchange Rate: RBA: UK Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar data is updated monthly, averaging 0.494 AUD/GBP from Jul 1969 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 670 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.780 AUD/GBP in Oct 1976 and a record low of 0.335 AUD/GBP in Sep 2001. Exchange Rate: RBA: UK Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Reserve Bank of Australia. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.M009: Exchange Rate.

The benchmark interest rate in New Zealand was last recorded at 3.25 percent. This dataset provides - New Zealand Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The Foreign Banks industry includes domestic subsidiaries of foreign banks and branches of foreign banks, which have grown over the past few years as soaring interest rates contributed to a sharp revenue rise. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained a relatively low cash rate over the past decade – especially in response to the pandemic – to stimulate economic activity. The low cash rate environment hampered foreign banks' revenue in the three years through 2021-22. In May 2022, this all changed when inflation rose quickly, leading to the fastest and largest hike cycle on record. These trends ensured a revenue explosion in the two years through 2023-24, especially after a decade of cheap money drove extensive private and corporate borrowing in Australia. Overall, industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualised 11.8% over the five years through 2024-25, to $45.6 billion. This includes an anticipated decline of 8.8% in 2024-25 as the RBA cut rates. Foreign banks are typically less exposed than domestic banks to the residential lending market and depend more on commercial lending because of the high number of foreign bank branches, with the noted exception of HSBC Bank, which has substantially grown its mortgage books over the past few years. Meanwhile, foreign bank branches increasingly lent to corporate clients despite a highly competitive market. These long-term trends allowed industry profit margins to heighten. Yet, as interest rates surged in 2022, so did foreign banks’ funding expenses. This weighed on profit’s proportion of revenue despite net earnings growth. Australian foreign banks’ outlook is more mixed over the coming years as interest rates gradually drop. Foreign banks are set to shift their focus towards ESG offerings like responsible lending, to satisfy consumer demand for green loans. In response to the fierce competition from lenders, including non-banks and fintech firms, foreign banks are set to splurge on technology to remain relevant. Funding costs will start easing as interest rates decline, causing profit margins to rebound. Overall, revenue is forecast to fall at an annualised 3.8% over the five years through 2029-30, to $37.8 billion.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in Australia from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2030. The inflation rate is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket. This product basket contains products and services, on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. In 2023, the average inflation rate in Australia was at about 5.62 percent compared to the previous year. Australia's economy Australia has one of the world’s largest economies and is a significant global importer and exporter. It is also labeled as one of the G20 countries, also known as the Group of Twenty, which consists of 20 major economies around the globe. The Australian economy is highly dependent on its mining sector as well as its agricultural sector in order to grow, and it exports the majority of these goods to eastern Asian countries, most prominently China. Large quantities of exports have helped Australia maintain a stable economy and furthered economic expansion, despite being affected by several economic obstacles. Australia’s GDP has seen a significant increase over the past decade, more than doubling its value, and experienced a rather quick recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, which indicates that the country experienced economic growth as well as higher productivity. One of the primary reasons is the further development of the nation’s mining industry coupled with the expansion and success of many Australian mining companies.

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.

Australia's main stock market index, the ASX200, fell to 8884 points on August 18, 2025, losing 0.61% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 2.49% and is up 11.32% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Australia. Australia Stock Market Index - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on August of 2025.