RBA holds key rate due to commodity upswing

Sydney

AUSTRALIA's central bank kept interest rates unchanged as a global commodity upswing eases the impact of a weaker economy at home.

Governor Philip Lowe left the cash rate at 1.5 per cent on Tuesday, saying "some slowing in the year-ended growth rate is likely" while noting that higher resource export prices "are providing a boost to national income".

The decision was predicted by economists and traders heeding Mr Lowe's concern that further easing could destabilise an economy where households are already saddled with record debt.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has pushed an increasingly optimistic story reflecting faster growth and falling unemployment, helped by an unexpected rebound in commodity prices in response to stimulus in China. But the picture is starting to f…