RBA keeps powder dry

THE Reserve Bank has held the official cash rate at 1.5 per cent for the 21st consecutive month, saying weak household spending and sluggish wage growth remain a concern.

RBA governor Philip Lowe yesterday kept his comments on employment, inflation and the state of the housing market virtually unchanged from his April statement but continued to call out household consumption as a source of uncertainty, pointing to incomes growing slowly while household debt levels remain high.