INTEREST RATES:

The future of Philip Lowe as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is under a cloud after Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers was forced to clarify comments he made during a doorstop interview in Canberra this morning.

Widespread doubts currently exist about whether Mr Lowe (main picture) will be appointed for a second seven-year term as RBA Governor.

But following the short news conference a range of news organisations published stories quoting Mr Chalmers as saying the government was not planning any changes at the top of the RBA.

Mr Chalmers reportedly canvassed the statement last year by the RBA Governor that suggested interest rates would not lift but which was followed by nine successive monthly rises in the cash rate as well as the bank’s most recent commentary pointing to further rises.

But this morning’s published news reports said the Treasurer had used the news conference to resist calls to dismiss Mr Lowe and had finished by insisting that the government’s strategy would guarantee lower home loan interest rates “well into the future”.

However, a short time ago the Treasurer’s office issued a statement which it said “clarified” Mr Chalmer’s remarks.

The statement said Mr Chalmers had never said that the RBA Governor would stay in his job, nor was he guaranteeing a period of lower interest rates.

His office also issued a transcript of the Treasurer’s answer to the relevant question at the doorstop interview in which he said: “If we don’t make changes we’ll have Lowe interest rates well into the future.”