Reserve Bank of Australia trims interest rate

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The central bank of Australia Tuesday lowered its lending rate to a record 2.5 percent, trimming the rate by a quarter percentage point.

The Reserve Bank of Australia did not respond to the 2009 financial crisis with aggressive interest rate cuts as central banks of other developed economies did. Australia's commodity-based economy survived the crisis largely unscathed.

But a slowdown in export demand took its toll on Australian businesses. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday's rate cut is the eighth interest rate reduction since November 2011.

Another interest rate reduction is expected by the end of the year, the Journal reported.