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RBNZ Seen Holding Rates Steady While Retaining Threat to Hike
New Zealand’s central bank will probably keep interest rates on hold this week but retain the threat of a hike as inflation proves difficult to tame, economists said. The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold the Official Cash Rate at 5.5% Wednesday in Wellington, according to 22 of 24 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Two forecasters — ANZ Bank and TD Securities — predict an increase to 5.75%. “We are firmly of the view that recent data shows monetary policy is having the desired effect,” said Kim Mundy, senior economist at ASB Bank in Auckland. “But we acknowledge there are still some ... (full story)