On Tuesday the Reserve Bank of Australia downgraded its GDP forecasts and admitted that it was going to take longer than previously expected for inflation to reach its target range.
In respect to the latter, Governor Lowe said: "The central scenario is for underlying inflation to be 2 per cent this year and 2¼ per cent in 2020."
If this proves to be the case then I think it is inevitable that rates will be kept on hold for the entirety of 2019 and much of 2020.
While this is potentially good news for borrowers, it is bad news for savers that will have to contend with low interest rates on savings accounts and term deposits for some time to come.
Luckily for savers there are a large number of dividend shares on the Australian share market that offer yields that are vastly superior to those on offer from other interest-bearing options.
Three to consider buying this week are as follows:
Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)
Although this baby products retailer's shares only provide a trailing fully franked 2.5% dividend at present, I believe the significant reduction in competition in the industry has put the company in a position to increase it meaningfully this year. In fact, at its AGM management provided guidance that implied potential EBITDA growth of up to 45% in FY 2019. If the company increases its dividend in line with its earnings grow, I estimate that it will pay an 7.7 cents per share dividend. This work out to be a 3.7% forward yield at today's price. I expect further increases in FY 2020 and beyond.
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
One of my favourite options in the banking sector right now is National Australia Bank. I believe it is well-placed to deliver a strong result in FY 2019 thanks to its overweight exposure to a business lending market that is performing very well. I'm optimistic that this will allow the bank to maintain its $1.98 per share dividend this year and still meet its CET1 target. If this proves to be the case then it means NAB's shares offer a forward fully franked 7.9% dividend today.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
This real estate property trust owns a large number of rural properties across different geographies and farming industries. One key attraction to the trust for me is that it has high quality tenants with long-term tenancy agreements that have rental indexation built into them. I believe this puts the trust in a position to grow its distribution each year at a solid and predictable rate. At present its units offer a trailing 4.7% yield.