RBNZ statement opens: "The Official Cash.......>

RBNZ: RBNZ statement opens: "The Official Cash Rate (OCR) is 0.25 percent,

reduced from 1.0 percent, and will remain at this level for at least the next 12

months. The negative economic implications of the COVID-19 virus continue to

rise warranting further monetary stimulus. Since the outbreak of the virus,

global trade, travel, and business and consumer spending have been curtailed

significantly. Increasingly, governments internationally have imposed a variety

of restraints on people movement within and across national borders in order to

mitigate the virus transmission. Financial market pricing has responded to these

events with declining global equity prices and increased interest rate spreads

on traditionally riskier asset classes. The negative impact on the New Zealand

economy is, and will continue to be, significant. Demand for New Zealand's goods

and services will be constrained, as will domestic production. Spending and

investment will be subdued for an extended period ...