MNI: RBA Lowe Promises More Help For Econ, Announce Thursday

     SYDNEY (MNI) - Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe says Monday

the Bank will announce further measures to support the economy on Thursday. The

full statement follows below:

     As Australia's financial system adjusts to the coronavirus (COVID-19),

financial regulators and the Australian Government are working closely together

to help ensure that Australia's financial markets continue to operate

effectively and that credit is available to households and businesses. Refer to

earlier CFR press release. Australia's financial system is resilient and it is

well placed to deal with the effects of the coronavirus. At the same time,

trading liquidity has deteriorated in some markets.

     In response, the Reserve Bank stands ready to purchase Australian

government bonds in the secondary market to support the smooth functioning of

that market, which is a key pricing benchmark for the Australian financial

system. The Bank will also be conducting one-month and three-month repo

operations in its daily market operations until further notice to provide

liquidity to Australian financial markets. In addition the Bank will conduct

longer term repo operations of six-months maturity or longer at least weekly, as

long as market conditions warrant. The Reserve Bank and the AOFM are in close

liaison in monitoring market conditions and supporting continued functioning of

the market.

     The Bank will announce further policy measures to support the Australian

economy on Thursday.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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