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Mortgage holders can breathe a sigh of relief as the Reserve Bank keeps interest rates on hold.

Australia's central bank moved to the sidelines in July after 12 interest rate rises in the tightening cycle, leaving the official cash rate at 4.1 per cent.

The pause is the second in 14 meetings, with the central bank also leaving rates unchanged in April.

But RBA governor Philip Lowe said there might need to be further rises if the situation calls for it.

"Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable time-frame, but that will depend upon how the economy and inflation evolve," he said.

"The decision to hold interest rates steady this month provides the board with more time to assess the state of the economy and the economic outlook and associated risks."

Economists were divided over the RBA's most likely move in July following a mixed bag of data for the month.

The monthly consumer price index dropped sharply in May, but the underlying numbers were less encouraging.

Board members also weighed up signs of strength across the jobs market, a fairly resilient consumer sector and a recovering property market, which is thought to make people feel wealthier and spend more.

The 400 basis points of interest rate hikes so far have been felt keenly by borrowers.

The aggressive tightening has added upwards of $1000 to monthly repayments on the standard variable rate home loan compared to April last year, before interest rates started going up.

© AAP 2023

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Meta Platforms plans to launch a microblogging app, Threads, days after Twitter executive chair Elon Musk announced a temporary cap on how many posts users can read on the social media site.

Threads, Instagram's text-based conversation app, is expected to be released on Thursday and will allow users to follow the accounts they follow on the photo-sharing platform and keep the same username, a listing on Apple's App Store showed.

The launch comes after Twitter announced a slate of restrictions on the app, including the need to be verified to use TweetDeck.

Musk's latest announcements to address data scraping have sparked a fierce backlash from Twitter users and ad experts said it would undermine new CEO Linda Yaccarino, who started in the role last month.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on a similar launch on the Google Play Store.

© RAW 2023

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Three men allegedly involved in a violent confrontation over an e-scooter sale will remain behind bars after being charged.

Aron Nsengiyumva, 21, Alex Edward Deng, 20 and John Wal Wal, 24, have been remanded in custody on a string of charges after three men were stabbed and a dog was killed during the weekend attack in Brisbane's southwest.

The violence erupted on Sunday evening when three armed men allegedly demanded the residents of a Forest Lake property hand over an e-scooter that had been advertised for private sale on social media for $2000.

Three men - aged 33, 30 and 21 - armed themselves with shovels and were stabbed during a wild backyard brawl.

Nsengiyumva, from Redbank, on Tuesday appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court with what appeared to be facial injuries.

His matter was adjourned until July 24.

Co-accused Deng, from Darra, did not appear in court when his matter was adjourned to the same date.

They did not apply for bail and have been remanded in custody.

Wal Wal, from Goodna, appeared in Richlands Magistrates Court on Monday.

He will remain in custody until his next appearance in October.

All three men have been charged with offences including serious animal cruelty, threatening violence, attempting to illegally enter premises and wounding.

Police say two of the alleged attackers went to the Forest Lake home about 1.30pm on Sunday to inspect the scooter before trying to pay with counterfeit cash.

They allegedly produced a knife but left without the scooter after an altercation.

Hours later they returned with another man, scaling the back fence armed with weapons including knives, machetes and what was later revealed to be a gel blaster pistol, police allege.

They allegedly demanded the scooter, smashing rear glass doors and stabbing the dog to entice the victims outside.

Despite the efforts of police and late-night vets, the dog later died.

Two of the alleged attackers suffered injuries during the confrontation, including a fractured cheekbone, lacerations to an eye socket and injuries to the back of the skull, police said.

© AAP 2023

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RURAL BANK'S AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE MID-YEAR OUTLOOK

Queensland

* Strong avocado production is expected across the Queensland growing regions as recent plantings continue to mature.

NSW

* Lamb markets will likely encounter good numbers of new-season lambs in the second half of 2023.

Victoria

* High water-storage levels are keeping water prices low, which will continue to benefit irrigated horticultural crops.

Tasmania

* Potato farmers have had average crops over the past six months, while later plantings are expected to struggle due to a late winter harvest.

South Australia

* Merino wool producers in South Australia are increasing sheep numbers and strong wool production is forecast over the next six months driven by good rainfall but held back by lower prices.

Western Australia

* Below-average rainfall in May across all Western Australian cropping regions means the season is sitting on a knife edge for many.

© AAP 2023