RBA opts for the safe bet: keeps rates on hold at 1.50%

Interest rates have been kept on hold at 1.50% again this month in new Governor Philip Lowe’s first cash rate announcement.

In a statement, Lowe said, "Inflation remains quite low. Given very subdued growth in labour costs and very low cost pressures elsewhere in the world, this is expected to remain the case for some time."

He also mentioned that, "Separately, a number of lenders are also taking a more cautious attitude to lending in certain segments. Growth in lending for housing has slowed over the past year."

No one was surprised that with no major economic changes to shake things up, the Reserve Bank opted to play it safe at the October Board meeting - experts almost unanimously disregarded the chance of a change this month, betting instead on a November rate cut.

At that point, after new data on inflation is made available in late October, the RBA will be in a position to re-evaluate and consider the benefits of a further rate cut.

Home loans up in the air

Although many lenders were still gradually lowering rates throughout September, others, reported Mozo Data Manager Peter Marshall, instead made increases.

Despite that, there are still some good deals to be found for savvy borrowers who keep on their toes. Check out where all the best home loan action is this month in the tables below:

Best variable rate home loan offers

Product	Interest rate	Comparison rate
Reduce Home Loans Rate Buster Variable home loan	3.35%	3.42%
Loans.com.au Essentials Variable home loan	3.39%	3.41%
Homestar Owner Occupier loan	3.44%	3.49%

Mozo's Pick of the Month
UBank UHomeloan (Mozo's Experts Choice Award Winner 2016)	3.64%	3.64%

*All home loan rates based on owner occupiers with an LVR of 80%

Best fixed rate home loan offers

• 1 year – 3.59% from Greater Bank (comparison rate 4.42%) and QT Mutual Bank (comparison rate 4.47%)
• 2 years – 3.59% from QT Mutual Bank (comparison rate 4.42%)
• 3 years – 3.59% from Bank of Queensland (comparison rate 4.99%) and Police Credit Union (comparison rate 4.80%)
• 4 years – 3.74% from Greater Bank (comparison rate 4.34%)
• 5 years – 3.74% from Greater Bank (comparison rate 4.32%)

You can find all the other great home loan offers available in our home loan comparison table.

Savings accounts an outside bet

Even without another rate cut it’s dire times for savers, with interest rates on saving accounts low and getting lower. In September, any action in this arena was mainly banks making further cuts - even term deposit rates, which saw a refreshing rise in August, were slumping once more. But it’s not all bad, and we’ve rounded up some of the best places to stash your cash.

Best savings accounts

Product	Interest rate	Special conditions
RaboDirect High Interest Savings Account	3.20%	Introductory rate for the first 4 months
Australian Unity Easy Saver	3.15%	Introductory rate for the first 4 months
RAMS Saver Account	3.15%	With a minimum deposit of $200 and no withdrawals in the month
ME Online Savings Account	3.10%	When you make a weekly Tap & Go purchase with your ME Everyday Transaction Account Debit MasterCard
Citibank Online Saver	3.05%	Introductory rate for the first 4 months

Best Term Deposits

• 5 months - Goldfields Money - 2.95%
• 9 months - Credit Union SA - 3.00%
• 11 months - Bankwest - 3.00%
• 1 year - Big Sky - 3.05%
• 2 years - ANZ (advance notice term deposit) and People's Choice Credit Union - 3.20%

To find more great places to park your stash, check out our saving accounts comparison table, and to keep up to date with the world of finance, don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, the Mozo Banking Roundup.