We knew that interest rates were not acting as a constraint on the economy, but rather were at levels likely to assist growth. With financial markets slightly more upbeat about the outlook, we felt that a steady setting of monetary policy would help confidence.
We were also sensitive to the possibility that, on this occasion, a surprise fall in interest rates could easily cause people to think that "things must be worse than we thought" and prompt the question "what does the Reserve Bank know that we don’t?" Such a reaction, had it occurred, would have been counter-productive. What can we say about the future?