RBNZ raised the Official Cash Rate by 50bps to 2.00% as widely expected. The central bank now projects OCR to peak at 3.9% in Q2 of 2023, before moving down slightly starting from Q3 2024.
In the statement, RBNZ said: “The Committee viewed the projected path of the OCR as consistent with achieving its primary inflation and employment objectives without causing unnecessary instability in output, interest rates and the exchange rate. Once aggregate supply and demand are more in balance, the OCR can then return to a lower, more neutral, level.”
Also in the new forecasts, GDP would grow 5.4% in 2022, then slow to 3.2% in 2023, 1.3% in 2024, and 1.2% in 2025. CPI would average 6.9% in 2022, then slow to 4.4% in 2023, 2.5% in 2024, and 2.0% in 2025. Unemployment rate is projected to be at 3.2% in 2022, then gradually climb to 3.8% in 2023, 4.4% in 2024, and 4.7% in 2025.
