RBNZ Announces Rate Hike To 1%

After the New Zealand central bank's interest rate meeting on Wednesday (23rd), it announced a 25 basis point interest rate hike as expected by the market, pushing its official interest rate up to 1%. In addition, it said that it is planning to sell off its 50 billion New Zealand dollars in government bonds in the market, and implement the withdrawal of excess funds from the market. In its statement, the RBNZ said the current local inflation rate is 5.9%, well above the bank's 1%-3% inflation target range, but it expects inflation to return to 2% "in a few years" level. Obviously, the New Zealand central bank seems to be preparing for a long-term fight against inflation, and has not slowed down the pace of interest rate hikes because the United States will enter an interest rate hike cycle.