Rate cut predicted for fourth month straight

Analysts predict the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates yet again, for the fourth month in a row, at its meeting today. The cut is expected to be around 75 basis points to bring the cash rate down to 4.5 percent. The past three cuts have totalled 200 points.

An estimate of annual economic growth for the September quarter shows the economy is slowing from 2.7 percent to 1.9 percent. The aggressive rate cut is designed to fight off any signs of recession, although financial institutions still claim finding funds is difficult, so borrowers may not see the whole cut.
 
The expected cut follows an announcement made by the National Bureau of Economic Research in the USA, which has now officially declared that the nation has been in recession since December 2007.