ANZ economists are now picking that the Reserve Bank will start cutting the Official Cash Rate in August. ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said she now expects the RBNZ to deliver a steady sequence of 25 basis point cuts starting in August, taking the OCR to 3.5% (from 5.5% currently) over 12 months. She says based on ANZ's current forecasts, by the September quarter inflation will be back in the 1% to3% target band and unemployment will have "cracked the 5% mark and is still rising". "August is not a strong conviction call by any means, and we currently see the risks as roughly balanced on whether the RBNZ starts ... (full story)