New Zealand’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged for the first time in almost two years amid signs that the weaker economy is slowing inflation.
The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee held the Official Cash Rate at 5.5% Wednesday in Wellington, as predicted by all 19 economists in a Bloomberg survey, ending a streak of 12 consecutive increases. The last time policymakers left interest rates unchanged was in August 2021.
“Interest rates are constraining spending and inflation pressure as anticipated and required,” the RBNZ said in a statement. “The Committee is confident that with interest rates remaining at a restrictive level for some time, consumer price inflation will return to within its target range.”
Red More : New Zealand Maintains Interest Rates Unchanged as Inflationary Pressures Ease