MNI BRIEF: RBNZ's Governor Declines To Give Clear OCR Guidance

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's 2.25% official cash rate is in a good position to weather potential global economic volatility and its impact on inflation, said Governor Anna Breman, declining to rule in or out hikes or cuts.

"“Because of the uncertainty and the global environment, our mandate is to keep inflation low and stable over the medium term, and we will do what we need to do to ensure that households know that inflation will, even if it's a little bit higher in the near term, come back to a low and stable level over the medium term,” Breman told reporters ahead of a key speech on monetary policy and the impact of the Middle East conflict on inflation.

While the oil shock may bolster inflation and require hikes, Breman noted it could also lead to slower growth and a quicker return of inflation to target. The Bank would seek to look through immediate energy supply shocks and monitor whether elevated prices become entrenched, she said. 

“On inflation, we are doing some internal work and when we have the next monetary policy meeting on April 8, we will comment a bit more in detail about the inflation outlook," she said, noting the Bank was focused on the medium term inflation outlook.