Forex Flash: RBNZ rates at 4.5% by mid-2015 – BNZ

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - With NZD/USD last around fresh 18-month highs above the 0.85 handle and just 300 pips below record 30-year highs: “We expect the NZ OCR will remain unchanged until Q1 2014,” says Kymberly Martin, Strategist at BNZ, adding: “The RBNZ has time to assess the multitude of divergent forces on the NZ economy (house price pressures, ChCh reconstruction, drought impact, fiscal tightening) without being rushed into action.”

“However,” she continues, “ultimately solid, if disparate growth, and rising inflation will see the RBNZ begin its ‘normalisation’ process from early next year,” the analyst suggests. “We expect the cash rate to move progressively back towards ‘neutral’, reaching 4.50% by mid-2015,” Kymberly concludes.