Reduce the OCR

“Finance Minister Bill English needs to man up and tell the Reserve Bank to reduce the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 2.50% for starters, and to plan for further reductions over the coming months” said Stephnie de Ruyter, leader of the Democrats for Social Credit Party.

“New Zealand’s OCR increases are out of step with global trends and contribute significantly to the excessive trading of our currency. The NZ dollar is the world’s tenth most traded currency with an average of US$110b dollars a day being bought and sold, mostly through offshore transactions.

The OCR level keeps the dollar’s value too high for exporters to compete in the international market, adversely impacts on employment opportunities, adds inflationary pressure, and increases interest payments for families already struggling to pay their bills.

“Kiwis reliant on income from interest on savings and investments would lose a little as interest rates on deposits went down, but would benefit from lower prices.

“An announcement in next week’s Budget that the Minister is going to get the Reserve Bank to consider reducing the OCR would be applauded many struggling New Zealanders.”

ENDS

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