Hawkish RBNZ Seen Unswayed By Signs of Deepening Economic Slump

From bnnbloomberg.ca

New Zealand’s central bank will likely reiterate this week that interest rates need to stay high for a sustained period, even as households hunker down amid signs of a deepening economic downturn. The Reserve Bank will keep the Official Cash Rate at 5.5% for an eighth straight meeting Wednesday in Wellington, according to all 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey. They expect the RBNZ to continue to sound hawkish despite investors betting that rate cuts will start before the end of the year. “There is no doubt that the New Zealand economy is in a very weak position and it is likely to deteriorate further,” said ... (full story)