WELLINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand's central bank governor said on Thursday its quantitative easing programme was the best available monetary policy option for now as banks are not yet ready for negative interest rates.
"The operational challenge still remains with some banks still working on being able to actually operate with negative official cash rate and negative wholesale rates," Governor Adrian Orr told lawmakers in a meeting.
Orr also did not rule out direct purchase of government bonds.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) on Wednesday doubled its quantitative easing programme as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy. (([email protected]; +6448028163; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Journopraveen))
