The Reserve Bank today announced the schedule for the release in 2016 and 2017 of its quarterly Monetary Policy Statements (MPS), the interim Official Cash Rate (OCR) reviews, and the six-monthly Financial Stability Reports (FSR).
The schedule introduces a clear rule for the release dates for the MPSs, interim OCR Reviews, and for the FSRs, to replace the Bank's long-running pattern of release dates, Head of Communications Mike Hannah said.
The Bank last year published release dates up to mid-2016, and these will be retained.
From July 2016, the rule is that:
- The Bank will publish the MPS on the second Thursday, in February, May, August and November. Each MPS includes an OCR announcement.
- There will be three intervening OCR Reviews, to be released on the fourth Thursday of March, June, and September.
- The FSR will still be published in May and November, but, from November 2016, on the last Wednesday of the month, instead of the second Wednesday.
This rule replaces the current pattern of release for MPSs in March, June, September, and December; for four OCR Reviews in January, April, July, and October; and for FSR releases in early May and November.
"The new schedule ensures that the Bank will capture the latest key economic data available for its policy decisions," Mr Hannah said. "It also gives the financial markets clarity over a longer timeframe to enable more efficient risk management and pricing of financial instruments."
The Bank is publishing the dates for 2017 provisionally at this stage. The Bank reserves the right to make changes to this schedule, if required, due to extraordinary circumstances. In such an event, the markets and the media would be given as much notice as possible.
Announcements are made at 9.00am on the day concerned and are posted to the Reserve Bank website shortly after. Media conferences are held at the release of all MPSs and FSRs, and these are webcast live on the Bank's website.
The 2016 and 2017 release dates are as follows:
Monetary Policy Statement / Official Cash Rate announcements
|
28 January 2016 |
OCR |
|
10 March 2016 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
|
28 April 2016 |
OCR |
|
9 June 2016 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
|
11 August 2016 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
|
22 September 2016 |
OCR |
|
10 November 2016 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
|
9 February 2017 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
|
23 March 2017 |
OCR |
|
11 May 2017 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
|
22 June 2017 |
OCR |
|
10 August 2017 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
|
28 September 2017 |
OCR |
|
9 November 2017 |
OCR & MPS: Media conference and webcast |
Financial Stability Report
|
11 May 2016 |
FSR: Media conference and webcast |
|
30 November 2016 |
FSR: Media conference and webcast |
|
31 May 2017 |
FSR: Media conference and webcast |
|
29 November 2017 |
FSR: Media conference and webcast |
Media Contact:
Mike Hannah, Head of Communications,
Ph 04 471 3671, 021 497 418, [email protected]