RBNZ seen cutting OCR by 25 bps, flagging easing bias

The RBNZ is expected to lower the OCR next week. (Image: NZME)

Mon, 18 Aug 2025

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to stick to its well-flagged plot line and chop the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 3% when it meets on Wednesday.High-street lenders ASB, Kiwibank and Westpac also said they believed the Reserve Bank of NZ’s (RBNZ) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would signal an easing bias to the official cash rate (OCR) from now on.“Beyond this [August] meeting, a data-dependent easing bias seems likely,” Westpac NZ’s chief economist, Kelly Eckhold, said in a research note.“We...

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