New Zealand's central bank held the cash rate steady at 5.5% on Wednesday, as policymakers reiterated that past tightening had helped constrain spending and temper inflation as required.
The decision was in line with all 27 economists in a Reuters poll forecasting that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) would leave the official cash rate (OCR) at a 15-year high for the third consecutive meeting.
"The Committee agreed that the OCR needs to stay at a restrictive level to ensure that annual consumer price inflation returns to the 1 to 3% target range and to support maximum sustainable employment," the central bank said in a statement.
