New Zealand - Spencer to play it safe at his penultimate meeting

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will almost certainly leave the official cash rate on hold at 1.75% at its policy meeting on Thursday 8th February and, in the accompanying Monetary Policy Statement (MPS), we doubt that the Bank’s interest rate projections will be radically altered either. The big risk is that there is a step change in policy when the new Governor takes over in late March. But even a greater focus on employment is unlikely to trigger a change in interest rates until late in 2019.