The RBNZ could raise the policy rate by 50 bps at next week’s meeting, commented Lee Sue Ann, Economist at UOB Group.

Key Quotes

“We had pencilled in another rate hike of 50bps only in Aug. But following the latest 1Q22 CPI data and RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr’s comments, we think that it is now likely that the RBNZ will hike by another 50bps at the May meeting, which will include a Monetary Policy Statement (MPS).”

“However, we will only be finalizing our OCR forecasts following the 1Q employment data on 4 May, which will also play a key role in determining the size of future OCR hikes by the RBNZ.”