The Reserve Bank of New Zealand warned on Wednesday that it may resume raising interest rates due to sticky inflation, wrong-footing traders who had anticipated the central bank would signal rate cuts given the economy is in recession.
The central bank held, as expected, the cash rate at a 15-year peak of 5.5 per cent for the seventh straight meeting on Wednesday but surprised the market by saying it considered a rate increase. It also pushed out the likely timing of monetary easing.
