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I posted the decision announcement as it hit:
And, this quick response via Westpac:
Responses to the RBNZ coming in ... "no surprises at all"
This now, via ANZ (in brief, bolding mine):
RBNZ remains positive on the growth outlook
- supported by accommodative monetary policy
- a high terms of trade
- government spending
- and population growth
House price inflation is "moderate"
Labour market expected to tighten
Downside risks broadly downplayed
- outlook for global growth continues to gradually improve
- equity markets have been strong
- downside Q4 GDP surprise was "mainly due to weather effects"
NZD ... funding markets ... RBNZ did not comment on either of these
RBNZ is treading water with regards to monetary policy
- RBNZ is not expecting to tighten monetary policy until the second half of 2019 and we agree with that assessment
- RBNZ retained a data-dependent stance
RBNZ's next move is expected to be a hike, but the RBNZ is being careful to not give that signal prematurely
- February MPS made it clear that the Bank sees risks on both sides
And, finally:
- With interest rates on hold this year, OCR decisions have taken a bit of a backseat insofar as the market is concerned. Global financial and political developments, fiscal policy and potential changes to the Policy Targets Agreement and RBNZ governance are instead at the fore.
- We anticipate the new PTA will be announced sometime over the next few days. If it is as we expect (with the addition of a "full employment" target in some form, and only minor tweaks as regards more flexible use of the inflation target band), the implications for the monetary policy outlook will be limited. There will be considerably more interest in the May MPS - the first under the reins of new Governor, Adrian Orr. Barring any significant changes to the dataflow we don't expect any major changes in the RBNZ's views, at least until he gets his feet well under his desk.