Australia holds interest rates

The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to keep interest rates on hold at 3.25 per cent this month, commenting that the country's economy is stronger than many others.

Bank governor Glenn Stevens said: "Demand has not weakened as much as in other countries and, on the basis of currently available information, the Australian economy has not experienced the sort of large contraction seen elsewhere."

He added that the financial system in Australia remains in a "strong" state, although the economy has experienced some weakness.

Such conditions may suggest that the prospects for the property market may be better than those where the economic downturn is more pronounced.

The most recent government figures for Australia's gross domestic product - covering the quarter from July to September 2008 - showed that the country's economy grew by 0.2 per cent, in contrast with the contractions seen in many other economies.
 

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