The Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy last week on Tuesday.

As widely expected, the RBA governed by Philip Lowe left the cash rate at 1.50%.

The RBA had previously lowered interest rates in August and May last year.

“Taking account of the available information, the Board judged that holding the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time,”

the RBA’s statemed said.

The RBA said that the economy was being supported by low interest rates and could continue this way.

In the forecasts, the RBA said that the Australian GDP growth could pick up above average in the next couple of years.

On inflation, the central bank projects that consumer prices could be slightly above 2% inflation by 2019.

Earlier in the day, the retail sales data was released ahead of the RBA meeting. Data showed that retail sales fell 0.5% in the month of December 2017.

This was more than the forecasts of a 0.2% decline.

However, November’s retail sales data was revised higher to reflect a 1.3% increase in retail sales spending. This managed to offset the weaker print for December.

Household goods and retailing sectors were seen posting a drag on sales for December.