Australia’s CB revises down growth forecasts

SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank on Friday said lower growth and higher unemployment concerns prompted it to cut official interest rates to a historic low of 2.0 percent this week in an bid to spur the economy.

Ahead of the conservative government releasing its national budget on Tuesday 12 May, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said a long-awaited pick-up in non-mining investment, which is holding back the economy, would likely take longer than anticipated.