Sydney Mortgages Signal Australia’s Central Bank On Hold to 2020

A surprise interest rate-hike for Australian mortgage holders should further delay a Reserve Bank policy tightening that markets have already pushed out to 2020. Westpac Banking Corp.’s decision to raise borrowing costs last week will likely be repeated by other major lenders, as typically occurs in Australia. “We see economic growth slowing further over 2018,” said Daniel Blake, a strategist at Morgan Stanley in Sydney, ahead of gross domestic product data due Wednesday.