Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr said that despite a renewed weekend
flare-up in the Middle East, markets largely expect a peace deal and oil has
retraced to pre-conflict levels, supporting a potential demand rebound. He added
New Zealand’s economy has been hit but not derailed—the oil shock has slowed the
recovery and dented demand but has not knocked activity off track—so the RBNZ
has ample reason to leave policy unchanged at its July meeting.
