The new standard variable rates will mostly range from 6.65 per cent, from non-bank lenders, to 6.82 per cent from the big banks, down from the current range of 7.15 to 7.32 per cent. But some credit card holders may have to wait. May. Credit card rates at ANZ and Westpac are under review. It is the first time the Reserve has cut interest rates three months in a row. The Reserve's cash rate is now 5 per cent, compared to 6.25 per cent on February 6, and just above its record low of 4.75 per cent.
Financial markets believe there is at least one more interest rate cut ahead.
Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane said the cut was aimed to shore up the economy against the dual threat of an international slowdown and a loss of business confidence. Access Economics director Chris Richardson said the economy was now set to rebound rapidly, with growth likely to shoot up to 4 per cent by the middle of next year. Melbourne Institute economist Peter Summers was more cautious. He predicted annual growth would bottom at 0.9 per cent in the 12 months to June, then rise back to 2.6 per cent by late 2002. In a survey last month, the institute found one in three consumers said they had cut spending on other areas to pay for higher petrol prices, said its deputy director, Don Harding.