RBA fails to shift stance, but says policy easing could be on agenda in the future

Australia's central bank said it could ease policy further at future meetings after keeping interest rates unchanged at a record low as the economy grapples with tumbling commodity prices. The local currency rose.

The overnight cash rate target was held at 2.25 percent, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement on Tuesday following a board meeting in Sydney. The decision wrong-footed markets and was predicted by 17 of 30 economists surveyed.

Stevens is relying on a 7 percent drop in the currency last quarter to boost local companies' competitiveness while keeping his remaining policy powder dry. He's avoiding further encouraging a rampant Sydney property market rather than rejoining global counterparts in a wave of easing aimed at countering disinflation pressure.