Clear and present dangers in the New Zealand economy meant there was no urgency for the Reserve Bank to increase the official cash rate from 2.5%, NZIER principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub said yesterday.
The financial system has improved over recent months reflecting a healthier New Zealand economy driven by stronger trade performance, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said today.
Australia, the country some of our political party leaders think we should aspire to match, learned of its Federal Government's new Budget this week and the contents must be worrying our Minister of Finance and his caucus colleagues.
National manufacturing data has revealed a third month of expansion - April reaching its highest value since 2004 - with Otago down slightly on a month ago, but otherwise "stable within a firm expansionary band".
A 5 percent rise in diesel demand in the December quarter from a year earlier could indicate a rebounding economy.
Economists will this morning focus on whether the Reserve Bank makes any mention of the Government's plans for the May 20 Budget when it releases its own monetary policy statement.
New Zealand's economy may have been built from wool off the sheep's back, but the present perilous state of the industry means its contribution could be consigned to history.
Big personal tax cuts for middle and high-income earners are likely to be announced in the May Budget and take effect from October this year.
Tax, the prime minister proclaims, is a powerful lever for the Government to boost the economy's performance.
While manufacturing in Otago has ended a two-month regional winning streak, with a slight decline recorded in December, figures reflect a return to a more stable position overall, the Otago Southland Employers Association says.
