NZD Spikes on Hawkish RBNZ Decision, Focus Shifts to UK Inflation Data
New Zealand Dollar surged sharply higher following RBNZ's unexpectedly hawkish rate decision. While OCR was left unchanged, the central bank signaled the increased possibility of another rate hike this year and delayed projected timing of the first rate cut to the second half of 2025. However, Kiwi quickly gave back some of its gains after RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr tempered expectations in his press conference. Orr emphasized that the OCR track is a only central projection, not a guaranteed outcome, and expressed satisfaction that inflation expectations are declining.