While speaking in Wellington on Monday, New Zealand (NZ) Minister of Finance (FinMin) Grant Robertson said that he has urged the public service to cut spending on consultants and contractors, adding tha he will also cut down the future budget allowances.

Key takeaways (via Bloomberg)

“New Zealand’s government is tightening its belt as a domestic recession and concerns about China’s faltering economy erode tax revenue and strain its budget.”

“The government has identified almost NZ$4 billion ($2.4 billion) of potential savings over the next four years.”

Market reaction

NZD/USD remains supported above 0.5900 following the above headlines. The pair is 0.30% higher on the day at 0.5919, as of writing.