News

More OCR cuts to come-ASB
2016-03-25

More OCR cuts to come - ASB
Further OCR cuts will be needed for the Reserve Bank to get the economic stimulation it needs, ASB predicts.
Responses to the recent OCR cut indicate the Reserve Bank will need to make two more cuts to the OCR this year for it get traction on inflation, in ASB’s view.
The Reserve Bank’s March cut, of 25 basis points, took the OCR to a historic low of 2.25%.
But ASB’s chief economist Nick Tuffley said events since then show the Reserve Bank is not likely to get the stimulatory response to the cut that it would have hoped for
Several benchmark lending rates have not fallen as much as the Reserve...

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OCT cut fuel for housing fire
2016-03-08

OCR cut Fuel for Housing Fire
House prices are tipped to rise following last week’s OCR cut- Miriam Bell
To the surprise of many, the Reserve Bank cut the OCR, by 25 basis points, to a record low of 2.25% last Thursday.To date, bank responses to the cut have been mixed.ANZ, Westpac and Kiwibank chose to only pass on part of the cut to customers, citing rising funding costs for the move.ASB took a different approach. It hasn't changed its OCR but has made cuts to many of fixed rates from six months to three years....

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March rate cut now more likely
2016-02-19

March rate cut now more likely
Bank economists say pressure is growing on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates in March after the central bank's Survey of Expectations showed a sharp drop in anticipated inflation.
Expectations for the inflation rate in two years time fell from 1.83 per cent to 1.63 per cent, the lowest since 1994.
The expectation for inflation in one year fell to 1.09 per cent from 1.5 per cent.
The Survey of Expectations is conducted quarterly by Nielsen for the RBNZ.
Economists at Westpac and ASB have both interpreted the result as a sign the bank have to move sooner on rate cuts.
 
 
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