OCR unchanged at 2.5 percent - Te Pūtea Matua
Central bank: rbnz | Type: statement | Date: 2012-10-01

OCR unchanged at 2.5 percent
Published:
25 October 2012
The Reserve
Bank today left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.5 percent.
Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler said: "the global economy remains
fragile, with further recovery heavily dependent on policy implementation. That
said, market sentiment has improved from earlier in the year, suggesting the
risks to the global outlook are more balanced.
"Domestically, GDP continues to expand at a modest pace. Housing market
activity is increasing as expected, and repairs and reconstruction in Canterbury
are boosting the construction sector. Offsetting this, fiscal consolidation is
constraining demand growth, and the high New Zealand dollar is undermining
export earnings and encouraging substitution toward imported goods and
"While annual CPI inflation has fallen to 0.8 percent, the Bank
continues to expect inflation to head back towards the middle of the target
range. We will continue to monitor inflation indicators, such as pricing
intention and inflation expectation data, closely over coming months.
For now it remains appropriate for the OCR to be held at 2.5
Media contact:
Mike Hannah
Head of Communications
Ph 04 4713671, 021
mike.hannah@rbnz.govt.nz