SYDNEY, Nov 19 Reuters Australia39;s central bank said on Tuesday that there was no immediate need to change interest rates, having left them steady for a year now, but it was important to be ready to act as the economic outlook evolves.

Minutes of its November 45 board meeting released on Tuesday showed the Reserve Bank of Australia RBA again discussed scenarios under which the cash rate of 4.35 may need to be cut, raised or held steady for a prolonged period.

In one such scenario, the RBA said a drastic slowdown in inflation could warrant a rate cut, but the board will need to observe more than one good quarterly inflation outcome to be confident that such a decline is sustainable.

Markets have not fully priced a cut in rates until May next year, with a move in February after the fourthquarter inflation report just at a 38 probability.

A majority of economists, however, still look for a rate cut in February.

The central bank considered a range of scenarios that might require a timely response from policy.

It is important to remain forward looking, avoiding an excessive reliance on backwardlooking information that may lead the board to react too late to a change in economic conditions, said the RBA.

Policy might need to be tightened if the board judged that the current stance is not restrictive enough, said the RBA, adding that it will closely watch data such as credit growth, banks39; willingness to lend and growth in asset prices.

The central bank has kept…