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Weekly Commentary: Glass half full
Last week’s Monetary Policy Statement was very much in line with expectations. The Reserve Bank left the OCR unchanged at 1.75% and issued the same forward guidance it has used all year. Essentially, the OCR is on hold, and the RBNZ expects that it will remain on hold until 2019, although there are large uncertainties on both sides. While the overall tone of the MPS was both neutral and much the same as previous missives, there was a lot going on beneath the surface. The RBNZ acknowledged that the housing market and construction activity were weaker than previously anticipated, and downgraded its forecasts in both ... (full story)