We kiwis always like to compare ourselves to our bigger neighbour to the west. And if you do so in the area of monetary policy at the moment you'll see a stark difference. With the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) having last week increased its Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 50 basis points to 1.50%, a huge gap has opened up with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Whilst the RBNZ has now increased the OCR at four consecutive reviews, the RBA's Cash Rate Target remains at just 0.10%, which is where it has been since 2020. So why has this chasm emerged between the two neighbouring central banks? After all both ... (full story)