The CEO of Australia's biggest bank said on Tuesday the country’s easing cycle would be “slower and shallower” than what people had been expecting, predicting that further rate cuts would not arrive until later in the year.

AUSTRALIA’S economy accelerated in the final three months of last year, supporting the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) cautious approach to further policy easing even after it cut interest rates last month.

The GDP growth beat expectations of a 1.2% rise from economists polled by Reuters, and also surpassed the 1.1% climb expected by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Growth was "modest" but broad-based, supported by exports from the country Last month,

AUSTRALIA’S central bank board cut interest rates in February mainly due to the risk of keeping policy too tight for too long, though a strong labour market made it cautious about the chance of further easing.

The Reserve Bank of Australia isn’t committed to any course of action on interest rates with Gov. Michele Bullock cautioning that easing policy too quickly may stoke a fresh wave of inflationary pressures.

Australia's economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the December quarter, and 1.3 per cent through the year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). It means the economy's rate of growth picked up noticeably at the end of 2024.