The latest data showed an annual inflation rate of 7.2%, as the economy dealt with the effect of strong consumer demand colliding with restrained supply. This means the Reserve Bank has to hit the economy even harder with interest rate rises to get it in check, and it expects to push New Zealand into a recession next year. So does that mean the Reserve Bank dropped the ball? Our Reserve Bank is part of a group that has probably dropped the ball. Central banks globally, not just the Reserve Bank, decided ‘let’s just put interest rates through the floor’.
