New Zealand's housing market could trigger interest rate rises before the end of 2004, Deutsche Bank said Friday in a quarterly outlook for the country's economy.
Saturday, October 18th 2003, 5:45AM
by The Landlord
The German-based investment bank is forecasting the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to leave its Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5% until December 2004, although Ulf Schoefisch, Deutsche's New Zealand chief economist, says housing is a "key risk" to this outlook.
Stronger-than-expected momentum from the housing sector "could trigger an earlier monetary tightening than assumed," he said.
The housing market, fueled by immigration and low interest rates by local standards, has been one of the few robust sectors in the New Zealand economy this year. But recently it has shown signs of overheating.
