CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank on Tuesday cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.15 of a percentage point to a record low 0.10% in a bid to lift the economy from a pandemic-induced recession.

The move was the first since March when the Reserve Bank of Australia board made two cuts of a quarter of a percentage point each two weeks apart.

The Reserve Bank also announced it would buy 100 billion Australian ($70 billion) of government bonds of maturities of around five-to-10 years over the next six months.

The bank is prepared to buy bonds in whatever quantity is required to achieve a 3-year yield target of 0.1%, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe said in a statement.

“With Australia facing a period of high unemployment, the Reserve Bank is committed to doing what it can to support the creation of jobs,” Lowe said.

Recent economic data have been better than expected and the near-term outlook was better than it was three months ago, he said.

“Even so, the recovery is still expected to be bumpy and drawn out and the outlook remains dependent on successful containment of the virus,” he added.

The board said the global economy had been recovering from the initial virus outbreaks, with the recovery most advanced in China.

Output in most countries remains well short of pre-pandemic levels and recent virus outbreaks pose a downside risk to the outlook, particularly in Europe, Lowe said.

Most major economies have slashed interest rates to near record low levels and deployed massive central bank stimulus to help their economies weather the coronavirus pandemic.

The Australian economy contracted during the first half of the calendar year, although Lowe said the economy had “increased solidly” during the September quarter. Official data for the quarter have yet to be released.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the interest rate cut plus the bank's bond yield target complemented his government's AU$507 billion ($357 billion) commitment in pandemic support to the economy.

“We’re seeing some positive signs as jobs are coming back and restrictions are eased,” Frydenberg told reporters. “But it will be a long, hard and bumpy road for the Australian economy and, indeed, for the global economy.”

St. George Banking Group Chief Economist Hans Kunnen said the bank's intervention would help create jobs, give borrowers greater confidence and keep the Australian currency competitive for exporters.

“The board is very conscious of the high levels of unemployment and something needs to be done,” Kunnen said. “We’re in the deepest recession that we’ve had since the ’30s.”