Given a knife-edge choice whether or not to raise interest rates to curb a rampant housing market, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard today chose to play Santa rather than Scrooge.
Thursday, December 4th 2003, 6:26AM
by The Landlord
In his quarterly Monetary Policy Statement released today, Dr Bollard left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 5.00 per cent.
Home owners with mortgages, who have seen house prices rocket 17 per cent in the past year, will breath easier. But so will exporters as the slightly surprising announcement is likely to ease pressure on the runaway New Zealand dollar that was nudging US65 cents just before the announcement.
