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The RBA raised its cash rate target a further 25 basis points to 4.25%. The fifth rise since October 2009, the gap between relative interest rates between Australia and other industrialised countries has widened further in 2010 as the economies of Europe and the US remain as yet subdued.

With a surge in revenue now about to wash into the economy on the back of sharply higher coal and iron ore export prices, the hike has brought rates back into what is a normal range just as economic growth strengthens according to the RBA.

The Australian sharemarket surged in March, with the All Ordinaries Index increasing 5.2% to close at 4,893.1 points.  International markets were also higher.  The Dow Jones Index closed up 5.6%, the FTSE closed up 5.9%, the Hang Seng closed up 2.5% and the Nikkei 225 closed up 9.6% for the month.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Australia's unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in February, from a revised 5.2% in January, and that 400 new jobs were created in the month