Reserve Bank hikes Official Cash Rate to 5.25 per cent
-
Loading... - pederson emilie
- 06 Apr 2023
- 65 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
The Reserve Bank’s higher-than-expected Official Cash Rate hike “will push New Zealand into recession”, an economist says.
The bank today lifted the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points to 5.25 per cent.
The 11th successive hike, it takes the rate to its highest level since December 2008.
Inflation is still too high and persistent, and employment is beyond its maximum sustainable level. The recent severe weather events in the North Island have led to higher prices for some goods and services, the RBNZ said.
Abhijit Surya, who works for Sydney-based Capital Economics, said the move “will push New Zealand into recession”.
“The RBNZ’s tightening bias all but firms up our forecast that New Zealand will enter a protracted recession this year,” they said.
Capital Economics expects the downturn will be so sharp that we will see rates being cut by the end of the year.
National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis said today’s 50-point lift in the OCR was a “punch in the guts”. Read More…
