New Zealand: Dovish tone with no changes expected – Standard Chartered

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is scheduled to announce its monetary policy decision on 12 February and economists at Standard Chartered Bank make their predictions. NZD/USD has been trading down this year, currently at 0.6422.

Key quotes

“We expect the RBNZ to keep the policy rate on hold at 1.0%.”

“The recent economic data has been supportive of an on-hold stance. Q4- 2019 inflation data came in higher than expectations. Q4 labour market data also reflected a healthy labour market, with unemployment and underutilisation rates falling to decade lows. 

“Given that economic growth is generally still soft, downside risks to growth from the coronavirus outbreak may lead the RBNZ to adopt a dovish tone.”