New Zealand’s Reserve Bank has held the official cash rate at 5.5 per cent, denying hawkish calls to raise further.

Governor Adrian Orr announced on Wednesday afternoon, the central bank would keep the OCR at the same restrictive level it has sat at since May 2023.

Orr said below-trend global growth was expected to help the RBNZ’s push to bring inflation back to its target band of one to three per cent.

Headline inflation, as measured by the consumers price index, was most recently measured at 4.7 per cent.

“Over the past year or so, the New Zealand economy has evolved broadly as anticipated by the (RBNZ),” Mr Orr said.

“Core inflation and most measures of inflation expectations have declined, and the risks to the inflation outlook have become more balanced.”

This post was originally published on Michael West.