- Grant Spencer, deputy RBNZ Governor
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand made two consecutive rate hikes in March and April, bringing the official cash rate to 3.0%. On the back of hawkish comments from policymakers and tightening of the monetary policy, the kiwi performed an impressive rally and now, the strength of the domestic currency is one of the major concerns for policymakers. Earlier, the Governor Wheeler pointed out that housing market is another key factor to watch, as it can overheat, with strong demand inflating the bubble. The latest comments, however, shows the pressure in the nation's housing market has cooled, as recently-introduced government initiatives are achieving their purpose. A rebuild in Canterbury as well as rising net immigration were both putting more strain on the property market in the recent months.
Now it is all about the exchange rate. RBNZ's deputy Governor Grant Spencer claimed that there is a big uncertainty in the future path of the kiwi exchange rate, which is a major beating on traded goods prices as well as overall economic activity. Spencer also pointed out that the more downward pressure that the currency exerts on prices and business activity, the less pressure will require to be exerted by borrowing costs. Interesting, that even despite cautious comments and slightly less hawkish bias, the NZD/USD currency pair moved higher 0.05% to 0.8642.
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