Bollard holds OCR steady as US Fed prompts currency jump
The Fed's statement, rather than Bollard's, pushed the already high New Zealand dollar up more than half a US cent, a development Bollard is unlikely to be pleased with since his statement mentioned the high currency reducing exporters' returns.
Bollard left his official cash rate (OCR) unchanged at its historic low of 2.5%, citing ongoing impacts of the European debt crisis, modest domestic growth and benign inflation.
"The only change (in Bollard's stance) that's meaningful is dropping of the words "for now," says Robin Clements at UBS New Zealand. Today, Bollard said: "It remains prudent to keep the OCR on hold" and omitted the "for now" included in his last statement in December.
Dropping the qualification indicates a much more open-ended period before the OCR starts rising again, Clements says.
Click the button below to subscribe and will have free unlimited access for a limited time to full article and all other articles on the site.
You will also be able to comment on articles on Good Returns.
![[Weekly Wrap] KiwiSaver in play; but outcome unclear](https://goodreturns.publit.io/file/c_fill,w_300,h_200/0ad582e4-c9a3-4692-bbe2-62d928f77fd2.jpg)
