RBNZ's Orr: Better to take small steps with the OCR and observe how things go

Joel Frank Independent Analyst

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr said on Wednesday that it would be better to take small steps with the official cash rate (OCR) and observe how things go. The comment justifies why the bank opted against hiking the OCR by 50bps at its most recent rate decision on Wednesday. The Governor added that the OCR is the bank's favour tool to deal with inflation, which neared 5.0% YoY in Q3 this year.

Market Reaction

NZD has not seen much of a reaction to the latest remarks and continues to trade near session lows, with NZD/USD in the 0.6860s.

Author

Joel Frank

Independent Analyst

Joel Frank is an economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and has worked as a full-time financial market analyst since 2018, specialising in the coverage of how developments in the global economy impact financial asset

EUR/USD holds above 1.1800 after German sentiment data

EUR/USD stays in positive territory above 1.1800 on Monday after the data from Germany highlighted a modest improvement in business sentiment in February. Meanwhile, the US Dollar stays under pressure amid growing unceratinty surrounding the US trade regime, allowing the pair to hold its ground.

GBP/USD rises toward 1.3550 as tariff confusion slams USD

GBP/USD extends the advance toward 1.3550 on Monday. The US Dollar faces intense selling pressure as tariff uncertainty lingers following US President Trump's latest announcement. Traders will take more cues from the broader market sentiment and central bank talks.

Gold climbs above $5,100 on broad USD weakness

Gold sticks to its bullish bias near the monthly above $5,100 on Monday. Renewed trade-war fears, along with rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, turn out to be key factors that underpin the safe-haven precious metal and validate the constructive outlook.

Cardano braces for impact as US tariff storm brews

Cardano is down 4% at press time on Monday, entering its third consecutive day of decline. Bearish bias in Cardano’s derivatives market positional buildup aligns with rising pressure on the broader cryptocurrencymarket amid US President Donald Trump's reassessment of global tariffs and domestic conflict with the US Supreme Court.

Supreme Court nixes tariffs, Trump teases 15% global tariff

On February 20th, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s global tariffs under IEEPA authority were unconstitutional, effectively nullifying the framework. However, the relief was short-lived. Within hours, Trump floated a 15% blanket tariff under an alternative legal authority.

Top Crypto Losers: Zcash, Pump.fun, and LayerZero extended losses as Bitcoin loses $65,000

The cryptocurrency market starts the week in panic mode, with altcoins Zcash, Pump.fun, and LayerZero. Bitcoin falls below $65,000 as the US President Donald Trump regroups amid renewed trade policy risks.