Australia’s central bank on Tuesday raised interest rates for the second time in just over a month as evidence mounted that the nation’s economic recovery is building momentum.

In lifting the cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.5 per cent, repeating its October move, the Reserve Bank of Australia became the only central bank in the developed world to have increased borrowing costs twice since the onset of the financial crisis. Norway and Israel have each increased rates once in recent months.