New Zealand's central bank held interest rates at an all time low on Wednes...
WELLINGTON - New Zealand’s central bank held interest rates at an all time low on Wednesday, as expected, and signaled no immediate need to adjust monetary policy but room to do so if the coronavirus became a more persistent threat to economic growth.
While the central bank flagged coronavirus risks, more upbeat comments about employment and consumer prices bolstered expectations it may not need to cut rates this year, which helped the New Zealand dollarAll economists polled by Reuters had tipped a hold in policy given domestic risks had receded but said the big unknown would be the hit from the coronavirus epidemic.
Widespread global travel and work restrictions due to the coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 1,000 people and sparked a global health emergency, are putting the squeeze on New Zealand firms doing business in the world’s second-biggest economy. RBNZ said in its statement that economic growth is expected to accelerate over the second half of 2020 driven by monetary and fiscal stimulus, and the high terms of trade.“Overall, it looks like the RBNZ expects to keep the OCR on hold this year, unless coronavirus blows up into something severe for New Zealand,” said Westpac New Zealand Chief Economist Dominick Stephens.
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