The Monetary Policy Committee agreed to maintain the current stimulatory level of monetary settings in order to meet its consumer price inflation and employment objectives. The Committee will keep the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 0.25 percent, and the Large Scale Asset Purchase and Funding for Lending programmes unchanged. The global economic outlook has continued to improve since the February Monetary Policy Statement. Ongoing fiscal and monetary stimulus are continuing to underpin the global recovery in economic activity. However, economic uncertainty remains elevated and divergences in economic growth both within ... (full story)

The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) is leaving monetary policy settings as they are. The Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain at 0.25%. The cap on the Large-Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) programme will remain at $100 billion, and the Funding for Lending Programme will continue to operate under existing conditions. Both programmes will continue to run through to June 2022. The Monetary Policy Committee noted, meeting its inflation and employment targets would “necessitate considerable time and patience”. It also repeated what it said in its February Monetary Policy Statement - that’s it’s prepared to cut the OCR if required. The ... (full story)