Latest bank decision: At its meeting on 29 April, the Central Bank of Chile decided to maintain the monetary policy...
Official Cash Rate in New Zealand
The Official Cash Rate ended 2022 at 4.25%, up from the 0.75% end-2021 value and higher than the reading of 2.50% a decade earlier. For reference, the average policy rate in Asia-Pacific was 3.70% at end-2022. For more interest rate information, visit our dedicated page.
New Zealand Interest Rate Chart
Note: This chart displays Policy Interest Rate (%) for New Zealand from 2024 to 2014.
Source: Macrobond.
New Zealand Interest Rate Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official Cash Rate (%, eop) | 0.25 | 0.75 | 4.25 | 5.50 | 4.25 |
| 90-Day Bank Bill (%, eop) | 0.26 | 0.91 | 4.53 | 5.63 | 4.27 |
| 10-Year Bond Yield (%, eop) | 0.99 | 2.37 | 4.48 | 4.38 | 4.53 |
Central Bank decides to decrease rates in April
Latest bank decision: At its meeting on 9 April, the Central Bank agreed to reduce the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 3.50%, taking total rate cuts to 200 basis points since August 2024, when the easing cycle began.
Under-control inflation and soft economy were key drivers: The decision was influenced by inflation being near the mid-point of the Bank’s 1.0–3.0% target range, which provided the leeway to keep cutting rates to support the soft economy; in particular, the Bank commented on weak household spending and residential investment, as well as the downside risk to the economy posed by higher global tariffs.
Further rate cuts to come: The Central Bank indicated that it has scope to lower the OCR further, depending on the extent and effect of tariff policies and the inflation outlook over the medium term. Virtually all our panelists expect further rate cuts later this year to support economic activity; our Consensus is currently for the OCR to reach a terminal rate of close to 3%, with a weaker global economy due to tariffs a downside risk.
Panelist insight: On the outlook, Goldman Sachs analysts said: “Looking forward, our base case remains for sequential 25bps cuts at the May and July meetings to a terminal rate of 3.0%, although we see risks clearly skewed to larger and deeper cuts depending on the upcoming evolution of global tariffs.”
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects New Zealand interest rate projections for the next ten years from a panel of 16 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable interest rate forecast available for New Zealand interest rate.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our New Zealand interest rate projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of New Zealand interest rate forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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