Monetary policy FAQs
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Monetary policy in New Zealand is formulated by the Monetary Policy Committee.
Have a look at Chapter 6 of the Monetary Policy Handbook
If you need more historical information, the back issues of the Reserve Bank Bulletin are a good place to start looking. You should be able to find copies at your local school or university library.
The latest Monetary Policy Statement is available in PDF format from the Reserve Bank website shortly after 2:00pm on the day of its release. Subscribers to the RSS news feed, the Reserve Bank email service, and Twitter receive Monetary Policy Statement news releases, OCR announcements and other public statements after they are posted on the website.
The Upcoming OCR/MPS announcements box located on the Monetary Policy Statement page provides a schedule of MPS and OCR announcements.
Chapter 5 of the Monetary Policy Handbook discusses the New Zealand economy
Information on the current state of the New Zealand economy and business cycle is contained in our Monetary Policy Statement (MPS).
When average prices throughout the economy go up, that’s inflation. The flip side of inflation is deflation, when average prices are falling. Read What is inflation? to find out more.
The inflation rate (CPI) is calculated by Statistics New Zealand, but the Reserve Bank republishes some data tables on this website in the Statistics section. Also don’t forget to read What is inflation?
The Remit provides the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) with its operational objectives, consistent with the economic objectives in Section 8 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act (1989). Read the current Remit here.
The Official Cash Rate is an interest rate set by the Reserve Bank to implement monetary policy, so as to maintain price stability. More information can be found on the What is the Official Cash Rate? page.
How does the Reserve Bank brief an incoming government on the role and functions of monetary policy?
Near elections the Reserve Bank prepares a briefing on the role and functions of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
The Trade Weighted Index weightings are updated in December each year.
A bank bill is a bill of exchange issued by a bank on behalf of a company, as a promise to pay specific amounts by a due date, usually 30, 60 or 90 days ahead. To buy some you would need to talk to a broker or a financial adviser at a registered bank. This key graph shows the path of 90-day bank bill rates and the OCR.
