No Curveballs From RBNZ

All in all, it was a predictably uninspiring Monetary Policy Review. The RBNZ reached a consensus to leave the OCR, LSAP settings and FLP conditions unchanged, reaffirmed its "least regrets" approach and pledged readiness to lower the OCR if needed. The Reserve Bank stressed that achieving policy objectives "will necessitate considerable time and patience." The statement highlighted continued uncertainty related to the ongoing pandemic and signalled that the Reserve Bank's medium-term outlook remains broadly unchanged, with risks still balanced.

• The MPC acknowledged its well-documented remit change, but continued to downplay its significance by noting that "the objectives of monetary policy in the new remit remain unchanged." The commentary on the impact of monetary policy on housing prices was fairly laconic and focused on the known basics.
• The RBNZ lowered its weekly LSAP purchase target to NZ$400mn from $420mn and reiterated that such tweaks do not reflect any changes in the overarching policy stance.