AUSTRALIA VIEW: *** Bank views on today's RBA........>

AUSTRALIA VIEW: *** Bank views on today's RBA MonPol Decision

- Barclays: Today's decision & the lack of change in guidance again indicate to

us that rate hikes are not in the vicinity. With employment growth slowing at

the margin & inflation remaining manageable, we believe the RBA is likely to

wait for longer to see more tangible evidence of a stronger recovery before

signaling a move away from the current policy rate. Given the RBA does not see

any imminent need for tightening, we believe it will likely now wait through '18

& move only in Feb '19, when inflation is closer to the middle of the target

band. We exp. the RBA to move twice in '19, most likely in H119 (Feb & May). We

believe if the pickup in data is stronger on growth or unemployment moves lower

much faster, then risks of a move in Nov '18 cannot be discounted.

- Deutsche Bank: There were no real surprises, and little that was new, in

today's post-meeting statement. In summary, we saw little likelihood of material

change in this statement & the Bank has delivered accordingly. There is nothing

here to alter our view on the policy outlook. We continue to expect two hikes in

the second half of '19 & 2 in '20.