Reserve Bank expected to hike to 5%, highest in 14 years

Reserve Bank expected to hike to 5%, highest in 14 years
(Image: Getty)
Rebecca Howard
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is widely expected to lift the official cash rate by another 25 basis points to 5.00% on Wednesday and signal there’s more to come. The last time rates were at 5.00% was in December 2008. That was 14 years ago. Yes, the economy contracted an unexpected 0.6% in the December quarter, house prices are falling, and there’s been chaos in the global banking system but it all comes down to inflation and inflation expectations.The Reserve Bank of NZ's (RBNZ) chief economist, Paul Conway, was pre...

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