The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is about to keep the Official Cash Rate (OCR) on hold at its first monetary policy decision of 2021 next week, as the economy stages a swift turnaround from the coronavirus crisis.
All of the 12 economists concluded that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will be with the same opinion on Wednesday, and will continue to keep the official cash rate (OCR) at the historic low of 0.25% for the rest of the year.
Out of all the economists, Three economists expect rates to be hiked by the end of next year, while others see the RBNZ holding through the forecast period until the fourth quarter of 2022. Westpac Bank says it sees the first hike only in 2024.
RBNZ may revise up its forecasts for growth, employment and inflation, and add forward guidance for the OCR, but stress that hikes remain a long way off and potentially even putting a date on it.
New Zealand’s (NZ) Treasury is out with its latest Economic Update. The latest New Zealand Activity Index (NZAC) continues to show modest growth. Activity in January was up 0.8% compared to January 2020.
On other hand, The U.S. dollar is facing its biggest loss in 10 days on Friday after disappointing U.S. labour market data effected the optimism for the country’s speedy recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The greenback continued to buck its traditional role as a safe-harbour currency, falling in sympathy with U.S. stocks overnight after an unexpected increase in weekly jobless claims soured the economic outlook.
“The prospect of a massive U.S. fiscal stimulus plus a successful vaccine roll-out are solid arguments to bet on a U.S. recovery this year,” Rodrigo Catril, senior foreign-exchange strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney, wrote in a client note. “But the overnight jobless claims data serve as a reminder of the unevenness of the recovery so far.”
NZD/USD 4 Hour Chart:
Latest
Popular
Trending
Archives
Search
Top Tags