Reserve Bank of Australia raises rates by 25 basis points
In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 3.85%, stating that inflation in the nation is “still too high.”
Economists polled by Reuters were largely expecting the central bank to hold its benchmark rate steady at 3.6%.
“While the recent data showed a welcome decline in inflation, the central forecast remains that it takes a couple of years before inflation returns to the top of the target range; inflation is expected to be 4½ per cent in 2023 and 3 per cent in mid-2025,” the central bank said in its statement.
The RBA added that its priority “remains to return inflation to target” and left the door open for more hikes ahead.
“Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable timeframe, but that will depend upon how the economy and inflation evolve,” it said.
The yield on Australia’s 10-year government bond stood at 3.472% shortly after the decision.
HSBC reports pre-tax profit jumped to $13 billion in the first quarter
HSBC’s pre-tax profit jumped by $8.7 billion to $12.9 billion in the first quarter, the bank said in an earnings release.
The bank said that included a $2.1 billion reversal of an impairment related to a planned sale of its retail banking operations in France and a provisional gain of $1.5 billion on its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank’s U.K. arm.
“We remain focused on continuing to improve our performance and maintaining tight cost discipline, but we also saw an opportunity to invest in SVB UK to accelerate our growth plans,” CEO Noel Quinn said in the release, calling Silicon Valley Bank UK a “natural fit” for the bank.
Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC rose 2.7% Tuesday afternoon.
– Jihye Lee
Asia currencies largely strengthen, Aussie rises ahead of RBA meeting
Currencies in the Asia-Pacific largely strengthened alongside the Australian…
Read the full article here