Rising borrowing costs may become a major hurdle Australia's nascent economic recovery in the months ahead: while the RBA has kept benchmark interest rates on hold at 3% since February, the cost of borrowing in Australian Dollars for six months or longer in the interbank market has gradually crept higher over recent months. This will act as a barrier to spending and investment, weighing on economic growth. Indeed, data released today showed that Investment Lending and Home Loans both fell in July, the former by the most since January and the latter for the first time in 10 months.
