Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe said the move not to raise rates was probably a closer run decision than nothing happening suggested. "The comments that stick in my mind from (RBA) Governor (Ian) Macfarlane's statement back in May was there were few down side risks to the Australian economy," Mr Blythe said. "But since then, of course, we've seen a fair amount of turmoil on global financial markets. "There were concerns there about just what was happening on the global growth front." Given that uncertainty the RBA obviously felt the need to pause for at least another month to get a better idea of where the Australian and global economies were heading, he said. "We get another CPI (consumer price index) reading before the next RBA board meeting to get a handle on just how the economy is doing and see whether the global situation settles down or not. Then you move on from there," Mr Blythe said. "What we've really just seen in a delay, a stay of execution if you like." He added rates were still heading back towards "neutral" and August was a likely date for the next rate hike at this stage.
