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The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will make its monthly decision on the cash rate today, with no expectation of a move.
The rate has remained at 1.5% since August 2016, the longest period of interest rate stability on record.
Reinforcing the level of doubt that a move will take place, a survey of brokers showed that 100% of respondents believed the rate would remain.
The HashChing survey also showed that 79% of respondents believed it would remain at the same rate into 2019.
Comparison site Finder.com.au is also expecting the rate to hold, with 100% of its resident experts predicting so.
Shane Oliver, chief analyst from AMP, explained why he thought the rate would remain the same. He said, “While economic growth picked up a notch in the first half of the year it’s premature to start raising rates as uncertainty remains around the outlook for consumer spending, the housing cycle both in terms of construction and home prices has now turned down, and wages growth and inflation remain low. So remaining on hold makes sense and this is likely to remain the case for some time to come.”
The RBA shadow board has said the change in Prime Minister has not altered its view on the appropriate setting for the economy.
The shadow board is currently sitting at a 48% probability that a hold is the right move, with 53% leaning towards a rate hike.
Inflation remains inside the RBA's official target band, while unemployment fell slightly to 5.3%.
Chair of the RBA shadow board Dr Timo Henckel said, "This is not due to an increase in employment but due to a reduction in the labour force participation rate, which dropped from 65.7% to 65.5%.
"Nominal wages growth currently equals the inflation rate, 2.1%, implying that real wages are constant. For policy makers this remains a concern as sustained consumption growth relies on real wages growth."
The shadow board said while the leadership crisis will have raised concerns among voters and the business community here in Australia, it's unlikely to have any major impact on consumption and investment.
In the longer term, the probability of the need for a rate hike in six months was 71%, down from 75% in August.
