Capital Economics says RBNZ hike may come sooner than market expected; RBNZ held rates in a split vote with chair casting tie-breaker (first since MPC set up in 2019); RBNZ now sees a 25 bps hike in Q3 and a cycle peak of 3.25% (prior 3%); output gap

2026-05-27

Capital Economics says RBNZ hike may come sooner than market expected; RBNZ held rates in a split vote with chair casting tie-breaker (first since MPC set up in 2019); RBNZ now sees a 25 bps hike in Q3 and a cycle peak of 3.25% (prior 3%); output gap still materially negative, so RBNZ unlikely to lift rates above neutral.