New Zealand’s national income is expected to get an annual boost of about $2.4 billion as the fight between new energy producers and the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries for market share keep global oil prices low, according to the Reserve Bank. Last year’s 50 percent slump in the price of Dubai crude oil to about US$55 a barrel has …

Any further downward surprises in New Zealand’s already tepid pace of consumer inflation may warrant an interest rate cut, the Reserve Bank says. Governor Graeme Wheeler left the official cash rate unchanged at 3.5 percent, while stripping out any projected hikes from the bank’s forecast horizon as a slump in global oil prices keeps a lid on wage and price …

The Reserve Bank has removed the prospect of future interest rate hikes from its forecast horizon as a strong kiwi dollar and cheap oil hold down inflation, and the central bank ponders whether to lower its assessment of where “neutral” interest rates should be. The kiwi dollar gained after the statement. Governor Graeme Wheeler kept the official cash rate at 3.5 percent, …