Westpac Expects Reserve Bank of New Zealand to Hold Cash Rate at 2.25%

Westpac said it expects the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to keep the official cash rate unchanged at 2.25% at its policy meeting this Wednesday. According to Jin10, Westpac said a lot has changed over the past six weeks, with the most notable development being that oil prices have fallen much faster than expected. Westpac said the easing of related inflation pressures has given the RBNZ more time to wait and observe how the country’s economy is performing, particularly as a large amount of important economic data is set to be released after the July rate-setting meeting. However, Westpac said the RBNZ’s forward guidance is expected to maintain a policy bias toward raising the official cash rate later this year.