Interest rates on hold until at least the second half of 2012
As expected, Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard left his official cash rate (OCR) unchanged at its record low 2.5% with the European financial crisis and its impact on the global economy the main reason.
While the central bank still has rate rises pencilled in from sometime after June or September next year, wholesale financial markets clearly don't believe that will happen as they didn't react to Bollard's statement and are still pricing in no rate hikes next year.
Although the Reserve Bank's view has changed considerably from its September monetary policy statement when it had a rate hike tagged for the March quarter next year, Dominick Stephens, chief executive at Westpac, says the statement was more hawkish than he expected.
"I didn't expect them to be so adamant about no (rate) cuts," Stephens says.
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