Three rate rises expected from RBA

The Reserve Bank board is thought to have been divided over whether to raise interest rates again this month, after three rate rises since September 2009.

Just as at the December 2009 meeting, the board is thought to have debated the issue at length with the final decision this time being to wait and see what the impact of previous decisions might be over coming months.

Markets are now betting that there will be just three more rate rises this year. Three rate rises of 0.25 per cent would take official rates to 4.5 per cent.