RBA keeps rate at 4.75%

The Reserve Bank of Australia announced Tuesday that it would maintain its federal funds rate at 4.75% for the seventh time since last November.

The RBA cited slowing global economic growth due to the recent earthquake in Japan, continuing debt issues in Europe and rising commodity prices as the rationale for its decision.

The RBA has also estimated that growth in Australia was “unlikely to be as strong as originally expected.

After the RBA’s announcement, the Australian dollar fell from $ 1.0701 to 1.0677 vis-a-vis the greenback.

On Monday, Australian retail sales figures came out much lower than predicted with a 0.6% decrease leaving some question as to the strength of the Australian economy.