Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Didn’t Cut Interest Rates Further
November 13, 2019
There’s already been one central bank surprise, this from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Officials there had been expected to extend their easing. New Zealand’s Official Cash Rate previously this year had been reduced by 25 basis points in May and 50 basis points to a mere 1.0% in August, but policymakers decided not […] More
A Little Bit of Everything This Wednesday
November 13, 2019
Investors have much to watch today including two separate congressional events of great interest. Public hearings on a possible impeachment of President Trump begin at 10:00 EST in the House Intelligence Committee, and one hour later Fed Chairman Powell testifies on the economic outlook before the Joint Economic Committee. There’s already been one central bank […] More
Dollar Up and Stocks Down as Impeachment Inquiry Opens Against Trump
September 25, 2019
House Speaker Pelosi ended her previous resistance to calls for Trump’s impeachment, raising the political risks to both Democrats and Republicans. The United States and Great Britain, which led the free world’s fight against fascism in the 20th century, are now both enmeshed in constitutional crises. Equities fell overnight by 1.3% in South Korea and […] More
More Central Banks Cut Interest Rates, Persistent Trade Tensions, and Lower Inflation
August 8, 2019
Central bank interest rates were cut by 25 basis points today in the Philippines and Serbia. Earlier this week, rates had been reduced by central banks in India (35 bps), Thailand (25 bps), and New Zealand (50 bps). The common thread in these moves is the trade war unleashed by U.S. President Trump, the weaker […] More
Central Banks and Weak European Data in the Spotlight
June 26, 2019
The Central Bank of Iceland’s 7-day term rate has been cut 25 basis points to 3.75% following a 50-basis point reduction at the prior monetary policy review last month. These moves represent a trend reversal from a 25-basis point increase last November. In a released statement explaining the decision, officials anticipate a contraction of domestic […] More
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Cuts Official Cash Rate to 1.50% from 1.75%
May 8, 2019
Today’s central bank interest rate cut is the eighth of this easing cycle but the first since a similar-sized reduction 30 months earlier. Quarter percentage point cuts also were made in June, July, September and October of 2015 and in March and June of 2016. Policy continues to have a downside bias. A released statement […] More
Big Reaction in New Zealand Financial Markets to Downbeat Central Bank Statement
March 27, 2019
The kiwi dropped 1.4% overnight. New Zealand’s 10-year sovereign debt yield slumped 11 basis points, whole share prices in that market rose 1.6%. A statement released after a regular monetary policy review that left the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s official cash rate unchanged at 1.75% paints a downbeat economic outlook not limited to the […] More
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Doesn’t Anticipate a Rate Change This Year or Next
February 13, 2019
The U.S. dollar lost 1.3% overnight against the kiwi. Officials at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand chose to retain a 1.75% Official Cash Rate. This was the 15th straight monetary policy review in which the interest rate benchmark was not moved, and a released statement reiterated that the next rate move could conceivably be […] More
Policies Driving Currency Markets as More Evidence Emerges of Slower Global Growth
February 13, 2019
Industrial Production in the euro area fell 0.9% in December, more than double the expected slide after a 1.7% drop recorded in November. This resulted in a 4.2% 12-month rate of decline, the biggest on-year contraction since November of 20o9. December output among the common currency bloc’s five largest economies fell from end-2017 levels by […] More
Declines in Kiwi, Ruble and Turkish Lira
August 9, 2018
The dollar advanced overnight by 1.6% against the New Zealand dollar, 0.9% versus the Russian ruble, and some 2.5% vis-a-vis the Turkish lira. Not only did the latest review of New Zealand monetary policy end with leaving the Official Cash Rate at 1.75%, half its level prior to the June 2015 first of 7 reductions, […] More
