Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hike rates by a 25 basis points (bps) for the third time in a row to combat soaring inflation, according to Bloomberg survey of 20 economists showed.
The central bank is set to announce its policy decisions on Wednesday and also will publish new forecasts in its quarterly Monetary Policy Statement.
“The Reserve Bank will lift its official cash rate by 25 basis points to 1% Wednesday in Wellington, a majority of the economists polled showed”, as reported by Bloomberg.
The reported added, “two predict a 50-point move. The Monetary Policy Committee may project an OCR of about 2.5% by year-end, a more aggressive upward path than previously forecast that would require a hike at each policy meeting in 2022.”
“Economists also expect the RBNZ to explain how it will start to reduce its balance sheet, which swelled during its quantitative easing bond-purchase program.“
“Several expect the central bank to begin selling small amounts of government bonds to the Treasury Department.”
