By Tracy Withers July 24 (Bloomberg) - New Zealand's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 8 percent, the first reduction in five years, saying slowing economic growth will curb inflation.
The nation's currency fell and stocks rose after Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said he may cut rates further. ``Economic activity is likely to remain weak over the remainder of 2008,'' he said in a statement in Wellington today.
n said, adding that he forecasts another 50 basis points of cuts by the end of this year.

The NZX 50 index reacted positively on Thursday morning to a cut in the Official Cash Rate by the Reserve Bank.
By 12.15pm, it was up 59-points or 1.8% to 3260 on turnover of $45 million.
ns on Wall Street.

By Mitchell Hall Reserve Bank governor Allan Bollards surprise decision to cut the Official Cash Rate this morning been greeted with approval by economists

(RTTNews) - The New Zealand dollar set fresh multi-year lows against the euro and the Australian dollar in early Asian trading on Thursday.

WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand's central bank cut the official interest rate Thursday for the first time in five years, saying the slumping economy would offset stubbornly high inflation.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard cut the official cash rate by a quarter percentage point to 8.0 percent in the first cut since July 2003 and said further reductions were likely.
tock Exchange, the benchmark NZX-50 index had risen 51.75 points or 1.62 percent to 3,253.40 by midday.

24 July 2008 - Despite providing much needed relief to home-owners and exporters, this morning's decision by the Reserve Bank to cut the Official Cash Rate to 8 percent does not reduce the need to rewrite the Reserve Bank Act, says New Zealand First economic development spokesperson Doug Woolerton.
"Exporters in particular will welcome today's decision which has already resulted in an immediate drop in the exchange rate, and I would hope for their sake that this is the first of many cuts," said Mr Woolerton.
irst's long-held view that it is time to put an end to such policy madness and rewrite the Act to take into account factors such as the exchange and employment rates when setting the OCR.

By Kazunori Takada WELLINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - New Zealand's central bank cut interest rates for the first time in five years on Thursday, and said further reductions were likely to counter an economy seen in recession, sending the currency sharply lower.
The market had been split ahead of the decision, which came as recent data suggested the economy is likely in recession but also suffers surging inflation.
esh key economic indicators - July 24

There has been a mixed reaction to news Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has cut the Official Cash Rate to 8 percent.
Macquarie Private Wealth's Kerry Porter says it is significant news for exporters. He says not only has it been cut this morning, but with the signalling of further drops, the New Zealand dollar weakened immediately after the news. Mr Porter says that will be particularly good news for exporters.
ys homeowners will welcome the relief but any gains will likely be eaten up by rising living costs. He says it also shows the economy is not doing well.

The NZD USD continues to face downside pressure as traders await the next interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on July 24.
Speculation is building that the RBNZ will reduce its target lending rate for the first time since 2003.
he futures industry from technical analyst to commodity trading advisor....

By NICK SMITH - The Independent | Thursday, 24 July 2008 Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard has just slipped a placebo under the tongue of the patient known

A Reuters poll showed 13 of 17 economists had expected the central bank to leave rates unchanged, with the median risk of a 25 basis-point cut put at 40 percent. But money markets had priced in a 50:50 chance of a rate cut, traders said.
KEY POINTS:
of 2009.''They need to do a series of easings until monetary policy is neutral at around 6 percent.'

Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard has cut the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points, taking it down to 8 per cent - the first rates cut in five years.

AP WELLINGTON, New Zealand: New Zealand's central bank cuts its official cash rate by a quarter percent to 8 percent Thursday, its first cut in the key rate

BREAKING NEWS: The Reserve Bank has cut its key interest rate to 8 per cent, and signalled there will be more cuts to come as the economy struggles along.

NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar fell on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 8.0 percent and said it expects to cut rates further on expectations the economy will continue to slow. For more details, click [ID:nWEL000720].
In New York trade, the New Zealand dollar was last at $0.7434 , down from the $0.7500 level it traded at just prior to the central bank's decision.
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