New Zealand cuts rates to 3%

by Richard Kilner

Story link: New Zealand cuts rates to 3%

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has reduced the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 3%, a cut of 50 basis points.

Alan Bollard, the Reserve Bank Governor, has stated his view that as the continuing economic and financial turmoil unfolds it is difficult to predict precisely how and when the recovery will occur.

In New Zealand the economic maelstrom has weakened the jobs market and investment, as well as reducing exports.

In common with many other countries inflationary pressures have also eased significantly.

Over the course of the last six months the OCR has fallen by more than 5%, and Bollard has indicated that any future cuts will be of a smaller scale than has recently been seen.

The Reserve Bank of Australia recently elected to leave its interest rate unchanged at 3.25%, a similar level to New Zealand’s.

Both countries have higher rates than either the eurozone (1.5%) or the UK (0.5%), which suggests the two nations are faring better than much of the rest of the developed world.