Australian central bank cuts key interest rate to 0.1%

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank on Tuesday cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.15 of a percentage point to a record low 0.10% in a bid to lift the economy from a pandemic-induced recession.

The move was the first since March when the Reserve Bank of Australia board made two cuts of a quarter of a percentage point each two weeks apart.

The Reserve Bank also announced it would buy 100 billion Australian ($70 billion) of government bonds of maturities of around five-to-10 years over the next six months.

The bank is prepared to buy bonds in whatever quantity is required to achieve a 3-year yield target of 0.1%, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe said in a statement.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-virus-outbreak-australia-economy-67cd14b9e3bd39ab74bfff18002b7835