There has been a modest uptick in NZD/USD in...>

KIWI: There has been a modest uptick in NZD/USD in the wake of the RBNZ MonPol

decision. The RBNZ left the OCR unch. as was universally expected, reiterating

its forward guidance that "the direction of our next OCR move could be up or

down." The Bank noted that "GDP growth in Q2 was stronger than we had

anticipated, downside risks to the growth outlook remain." The Bank went on to

note that "our outlook for the OCR assumes the pace of growth will pick up over

the coming year, assisting inflation to return to the target mid-point." The

RBNZ stressed that its overall economic assessment is "little changed" vs.

August. The Bank reiterated that "there are welcome early signs of core

inflation rising towards the mid-point of the target," noting that it will look

through any vol created by fuel prices. The Bank reiterated that "we will keep

the OCR at an expansionary level for a considerable period to contribute to

maximising sustainable employment, and maintaining low & stable inflation."

- The lack of commentary re: biz conf. may have provided some support to the

NZD, but that was likely limited as the overall econ assessment was little

changed.