Australian bank holds interest rate at 4.1% but says inflation is too high

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hold interest rates at 4.1% raises expectations that they might have reached their peak or are close to plateauing (Rick Rycroft, File/AP)

Australia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 4.1% for a second consecutive month, raising expectations that rates might have reached their peak or are close to plateauing in the current cycle.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has hiked the cash rate 12 times from a record-low of 0.1% in May last year — as the board has attempted to rein in inflation — to a target range between 2% and 3%.