RBA hold on rates expected after cuts

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The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold when it meets this week.

CommSec chief economist Craig James says most economists feel the cash rate will remain unchanged at a record low of 2 per cent after the RBA's monthly board meeting tomorrow.

"We had a rate cut in February and also May and the Reserve Bank gave no forward guidance in terms of future interest rate moves, so most people think interest rates are on hold now for a while," James said.

"What we're really looking at, rather than an interest rate change, is whether there is a change in terms of the guidance."

A jump in oil prices last week should stir up interest in the energy sector today.

"We did have some very sharp rises of the oil price, so that might put some of the energy stocks back into focus, at least for the short term."

James said a weaker Australian dollar also appeared to have brought some overseas investors back into the market, which had its best single-day gain in a month on Friday as investors snapped up beaten-down stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 1.12 per cent at 5777.2 points and the broader All Ordinaries index 1.06 per cent higher at 5774.9 points.

James was not getting carried away. "Maybe a bit more of a different story on Monday, maybe a bit more caution ahead of the Reserve Bank and GDP figures," he said.

Speculation about whether Greece was close to a deal with its creditors would continue to weigh on the market, he said. "It's probably one real reason why the US and European markets fell on Friday."

Key Australian economic data due this week include building approvals for April, to be released today, and gross domestic product figures for the March quarter on Wednesday.

"Each in their own right provides some benefits for investors trying to sort out the puzzle - what's going on," James said.

- AAP