The RBA kept rates on hold at its December meeting but a dovish tilt detected in its commentary raised expectations relief for mortgage holders could come at its first meeting of 2025.
Speaking to media following the decision, Governor Michele Bullock confirmed the board had made a deliberate shift in language to reflect "mixed" economic data "that was, on balance, a bit softer than we had expected".
Gone from the bank's statement was the threat that it was "not ruling anything in or out" when it came to another rate rise.
Market expectations for a rate cut shot up in response.
Bond traders have priced in a more than a two-thirds chance the RBA board will cut the cash rate by 25 basis points when it returns from holidays in February.
But expectations of a cut were wound back two days after the December meeting, when the unemployment rate surprisingly fell from 4.1 per cent to 3.9 per cent.
Michele Bullock says ongoing tightness in the jobs market is a prime concern for the central bank. (Steven Saphore/AAP PHOTOS)
Ms Bullock has stated that ongoing tightness in the jobs market was a prime concern for the central bank, weighing against it easing rates earlier.
"We'll be interested to see how the RBA was viewing the labour market and the extent to which a sub-four per cent unemployment rate might temper the dovish shift by the board at its December meeting," ANZ economists Adam Boyton, Catherine Birch, Adelaide Timbrell, Madeline Dunk and Sophia Angala said in a research note.
Three of the big four banks expect the Reserve Bank to hand down its first cut in May, while the Commonwealth Bank still holds out hope for February.
Increased expectations of an impending RBA rate cut would further weaken the Australian dollar, (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
Increased expectations of an impending RBA rate cut would further weaken the Australian dollar, which fell past the 62 US cent mark for the first time since October 2022 after the US Federal Reserve revealed a more hawkish outlook for 2025.
US stocks rallied to close out the trading week on Friday after two lacklustre sessions as a cooler-than-expected inflation report and comments from Federal Reserve officials eased worries about the path of interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 498.82 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 42,841.06, the S&P 500 gained 63.82 points, or 1.09 per cent, to 5,930.90 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 199.83 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 19,572.60.
For the week, the S&P 500 fell 1.99 per cent, the Nasdaq declined 1.78 per cent, and the Dow dropped 2.25 per cent.
Australian futures rose 13 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 8079.0.
The Australian share market dropped sharply for a second day to close at its worst level in 100 days and suffer its second-worst weekly performance of the year.Â
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Friday fell 101.2 points, or 1.24 per cent, 8,067, its lowest close since September 11.
The broader All Ordinaries fell 97.9 points, or 1.16 per cent, to 8,317.1.
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