RBNZ Governor Orr says confident in restrictiveness of interest rates
2023.05.24 17:51
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Adrian Orr is pictured during an interview at the bank in Wellington, New Zealand, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charlotte Greenfield
By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The Reserve Bank of Governor Adrian Orr said on Thursday the committee was confident in the level of restrictiveness of interest rates at the present point.
“They (interest rates) are well above what we would consider neutral, are constraining spending and investment,” Orr told the New Zealand government Finance and Expenditure Committee.
He added that there were indicators consumer spending and aggregate demand as a whole were easing and in some places were falling in real terms.
“The committee is confident monetary policy is restrictive and doing its job,” he said, but added the central bank never rules out the need to change that view.