-
New Zealand Government sees less pressure on rates
Households face only "reasonable" interest rate increases in the coming years, Finance Minister Bill English claims, admitting the housing market is slowing and growth is "flattening". Last week Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler hiked the Official Cash Rate - the benchmark against which other borrowing rates are set - to 3.5 per cent, but signalled that it may be the last increase in 2014. Speaking to reporters in Parliament today, English admitted that economic growth - the fastest since the global financial crisis in the past year - was easing. This, combined with restraint by the Government and households, ... (full story)