Despite being under pressure from tepid economic growth, weak inflation and a surging Australian dollar, the Reserve Bank has left interest rates unchanged at its August board meeting.

The stance was all but universally expected, given RBA governor Philip Lowe made it clear last week that rates would not be moving for a considerable period of time.

The market had priced in a zero possibility of a rate change into its calculations.

The RBA last changed settings in August 2016, when it cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to the current historic low of 1.5 per cent.