RBNZ Governor says countering inflation early will prevent need for higher rates

By Praveen Menon

WELLINGTON – Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Adrian Orr said on Friday that countering inflation pressures early prevent the need for even higher rates in the future.

“In other words, we are taking our foot off the accelerator now to minimise having to use the brakes harder in future,” Orr said in a speech at the Waikato University Economics Forum.

Orr said market pricing of future central bank policy rates continue to indicate that New Zealand is expected to tighten policy sooner than many other comparable economies.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)