(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 8 apr - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said that its Monetary Policy Committee to agreed to hold the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 2.25%.

"Since the February Monetary Policy Statement, events in the Middle East have materially altered the outlook and the balance of risks for inflation and economic growth in New Zealand. In the near term, inflation is expected to increase and the economic recovery to weaken. The Committee is vigilant to any generalised inflationary pressure and stands ready to act to return inflation to its medium-term target," the central bank said.

"The Monetary Policy Committee is focused on ensuring that inflation returns to the 2-percent target midpoint over the medium term. This requires core inflation and wage growth to remain contained and medium- and long-term inflation expectations to remain around 2 percent. If these conditions are not met, decisive and timely increases in the OCR would.

be required," it added.

(RADIOCOR) 08-04-26 08:03:36 (0091) 5 NNNN