Bank left cash rate unchanged in July and meeting minutes state squeeze on households means consumption could slow ‘more sharply than implied by the current forecasts’

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The Reserve Bank opted to leave the official interest rate unchanged at the July board meeting in part because gathering headwinds might mean the economy slows more than it expected.

While the nine-member board agreed “some further tightening of monetary policy may be required”, that would hinge on how inflation and the economy fared, according to minutes from the 4 July meeting released on Tuesday.