OCR to remain on hold until March 2013 - at least

All 13 economists surveyed by Good Returns expect Bollard to leave his official cash rate (OCR) unchanged at its record low 2.5% on Thursday and the earliest they expect him to raise it is in the March quarter next year.

Seven economists are predicting an OCR hike in the March quarter 2013, five expect Bollard to wait until June or July and Peter Cavanaugh at Bancorp Treasury Services now expects Bollard will wait until December next year.

Cavanaugh says the world economy, and the problems weighing it, are unlikely to be solved any time soon.

"There's going to be a long, drawn-out recovery. We're increasingly seeing the world gearing up for that," Cavanaugh says.