off-the-wire

UPDATE 1-National Australia Bank lowers peak rate call for Australia to 3.85%, from 4.1%

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Adds detail, pars 2-4) By Stella Qiu SYDNEY, March 30 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank said on Thursday it expects Australian interest rates to peak at 3.85%, down from a previous estimate of 4.1%.


NAB added it still expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise its official cash rate by 25 basis points in April for a final time, beginning rate cuts in the first half of 2024. "We continue to see rate cuts in H1 2024 bringing the cash rate back to 3.1% as the economy slows and unemployment rises," the bank's chief economist Alan Oster said in a statement.


Fellow Australian bank Westpac also cut its peak rate forecast to 3.85% earlier this month. (Reporting by Stella Qiu in Sydney Editing by Alasdair Pal)

Messaging: alasdair.pal.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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