RBA hits pause on official interest rate at 3.6% but says further rises may be needed

The Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney. The bank has come under pressure after a record run of interest rate increases before Tuesday’s meeting. Photograph: Steven Saphore/Reuters

Australia’s Reserve Bank has left its key interest rate unchanged for the first time in 11 meetings, indicating that it will monitor the impact of a record run of increases before lifting borrowing costs again. More increases are still possible.

The RBA on Tuesday left its cash rate target at 3.60%. Economists had been divided about whether the central bank would pause for the first time since May or hike by another quarter point to 3.85%.