RBA expected to hold cash rate steady in next week's meeting - Reuters poll

The RBA will meet on 6 March, Tuesday

• 26 out of 27 economists sees the RBA standing pat in next week's meeting
• 23 of 27 respondents forecast rates to hold steady until Q3 this year
• 3 others expect a hike by then; 1 expects the RBA to cut rates
• Median cash rate forecast by Q2 2019 is 2.0%

No surprises for next week's meeting, as the RBA is not expected to move until the end of this year or quite possibly next year.

The big issue for the RBA is household debt, which in turns affects consumption, and in return impacts the economy. The other issue for the RBA is that inflation is seen as stalling for the time being.

Their favourite measure, the trimmed mean reading, is at 1.8% y/y and still sits below their target band of 2-3%.