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Reserve Bank leaves OCR unchanged - 'prolonged stimulus necessary'
The Reserve Bank has left the Official Cash Rate on hold at 0.25 per cent in its first Monetary Policy Statement for the year. In the statement, released at 2pm, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr said prolonged monetary stimulus was necessary and the outlook "remained highly uncertain". The dollar fell 20 basis points (0.2c) immediately after the announcement. ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley described the statement as "an attempt to hose down some of the exuberance that has gripped global financial markets as vaccine roll-outs brought optimism that the pandemic will soon be put behind us". The RBNZ's quantitative ... (full story)