Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to speak at the Council on Foreign Relations. I will begin with a progress report on the broad public review my Federal Reserve ...

tweet at 12:34pm: - Fed’s Bullard: Inflation Below Target Is Surprising Given Fast Growth - It Seems Like A Good Time For ‘Insurance Rate Cut’ tweet at 12:36pm: U.S. FED'S BULLARD SAYS 50 BASIS POINTS RATE CUT IN JULY WOULD BE OVERDONE tweet at 12:38pm: Fed’s Bullard: Holding Rates In June Puts Really High July Probability tweet at 12:41pm: Fed's Bullard says he is surprised by below target inflation with the fast growth US has $DXY

tweet at 1:34pm: TRUMP BELIEVES U.S. DOLLAR IS TOO STRONG, EURO IS TOO WEAK -SENIOR U.S. ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL SAYS tweet at 1:35pm: - IF U.S. FED TOOK BACK RATE HIKE FROM LAST FALL, THE DOLLAR WOULD BE LESS STRONG AND THE EURO WOULD BE LESS WEEK -U.S. OFFICIAL tweet at 1:35pm: WHITE HOUSE HAS NO PLANS TO DEMOTE FED CHAIR POWELL -OFFICIAL tweet at 1:34pm: There Is A Possibility That U.S.-China Trade Talks Could Go On For Months Or Years -U.S. Official tweet at 1:31pm: U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS PRETTY GOOD CHANCE TRADE TALKS WILL RESTART AFTER TRUMP, XI MEETING NO BROAD TRADE DEAL IS EXPECTED TO BE MADE AT G20 TRUMP-XI MEETING -OFFICIAL U.S. IS NOT WILLING TO COME TO THE TRUMP, XI MEETING WITH CONCESSIONS ON TRADE -OFFICIAL

The Official Cash Rate (OCR) remains at 1.5 percent. Given the weaker global economic outlook and the risk of ongoing subdued domestic growth, a lower OCR may be needed over time to continue to meet our objectives. Domestic growth has slowed over the past year. While construction activity strengthened in the March 2019 quarter, growth in the services sector continued to slow. Softer house prices and subdued business sentiment continue to dampen domestic spending. The global economic outlook has weakened, and downside risks related to trade activity have intensified. A number of central banks are easing their monetary policy settings to support demand. The weaker global economy is affecting New Zealand through a range of trade, financial, and confidence channels. We expect low interest rates and increased government spending to support a lift in economic growth and employment. Inflation is expected to rise to the 2 percent mid-point of our target r tweet at 10:03pm: Key RBNZ quote: - The Committee discussed the merits of lowering the OCR at this meeting. However, the Committee reached a consensus to hold the OCR at 1.5 percent. They noted a lower OCR may be needed over time. https://t.co/fKy07jfufj tweet at 10:04pm: #RBNZ members agreed that more support is needed via looser credit conditions - BBG #NZDUSD #NZD tweet at 10:04pm: - RBNZ: Relative to the May Statement, the Committee agreed that the risks to achieving its consumer price inflation and maximum sustainable employment objectives are tilted to the downside.