As you are probably aware by now, the Board decided to increase the cash rate by a further one-quarter of a percentage point to 2.85 per cent. I will talk about the reasons for this in a moment. The previous time that the Reserve Bank Board met in Hobart was back in April 2016.
The economy was in a very different position then from where it is today. Inflation was below target and surprising on the downside, wages growth was very slow, the unemployment rate was close to 6 per cent and interest rates were trending lower, with the cash rate then at 2 per cent.