Muted inflation will stoke negative interest fire

Fri, 23 Oct 2020

E-cigarettes and exercise equipment are in, cordless phones are out, and New Zealand’s third-quarter inflation was weaker than the central bank expected and will stoke the negative interest rate fire. The Consumers Price Index increased 0.7 percent in the June quarter, bringing the annual rate of inflation to 1.4 percent, versus annual inflation of 1.5 percent in the year to March. The RBNZ had tipped the CPI to lift 1.1 percent for the quarter, bringing annual inflation to 1.8 percent. The central bank has a dual mandate...

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