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The New Zealand bonds slumped at the time of closing Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) sounded promising over the economic health of the country, in his speech delivered today.
At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, jumped 3-1/2 basis points to 2.91 percent, the yield on 7-year note climbed 4 basis points to 2.76 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year ended 2 basis points higher at 2.06 percent.
This afternoon RBNZ Governor Wheeler deliver a speech entitled “Reflections on the stewardship of the Reserve Bank” to the Northern Club in Auckland. The Governor repeated that he thinks the introduction of debt-to-income ratios would be a useful addition to the RBNZ’s macro-prudential toolkit. However, he repeated that the RBNZ would not introduce such limits while the housing market was continuing to moderate.
On inflation the Governor emphasised that much of the low inflation in recent years was related to tradable inflation, which was largely beyond the control of the RBNZ. "A lower New Zealand dollar is needed to increase tradable inflation and help deliver more balanced growth", he said.
Governor Wheeler will step down as RBNZ governor in September, and will be replaced by current Deputy Governor Grant Spencer for a period of six months. A new permanent Governor will be appointed next year. The delay is due to the timing of the country’s general election, which will take place September 23, just days before the Governor leaves office.
Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index closed 0.47 percent higher at 7,775.20, while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained neutral at 41.49 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
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