Glenn Stevens has delivered another glowing assessment of the Australian economy, and hinted that the string of rate rises might be nearing an end.

Speaking at a business forum in Toowoomba, Mr Stevens says Australia's economy has surprised the Reserve Bank with its resilience through the financial crisis, and rapid recovery afterwards.

He says the unemployment rate is 2 percentage points lower than the RBA had forecast a year ago, and that GDP is 4 per cent higher than the bank expected.

"One would not expect the setting of interest rates to be unusually low," Mr Stevens said.

"If the economy is growing close to trend, and inflation is close to target, one would expect interest rates to be pretty close to average.

"The Reserve Bank has moved early to raise the cash rate to levels that deliver interest rates for borrowers and depositors more like those that have been the average experience over the past 10 to 12 years. Those interest rates are now pretty close to that average."

Mr Stevens re-emphasised the role the re-emerging commodities boom is playing in boosting Australia's national income.

"Demand for natural resources has returned and prices for those products are rising... Australia's terms of trade will, it now appears, probably return during 2010 to something pretty close to the 50-year peak seen in 2008," he explained.

"As usual with these things, we cannot know to what extent this change is permanent, as opposed to being a temporary cyclical event."

He says that has the bank closely watching the effect on inflation, which it originally feared might fall below its 2-3 per cent target, but which it now worries may start accelerating again.

The Reserve Bank governor issued an appeal for understanding from home owners with mortgages.

He told the audience that interest rates had fallen to counter an emergency which, in Australia at least, did not eventuate.

"Eighteen months ago, the board moved quickly to establish a much lower level of interest rates in the face of a serious threat to economic activity," he said.

"But interest rates couldn't stay at those 'emergency' lows if the threat did not materialise... Hence the cash rate has risen by 125 basis points over seven months - which is still only about a third the pace of the earlier declines."

The Australian dollar slipped 0.15 cents to 92.46 US cents on the release of the speech, as investors interpreted Mr Stevens' comments that rates were "pretty close" to average as slightly reducing the chance of a rate rise next month.