NZ cuts interest rates to record low; kiwi dollar soars

Wellington

NEW Zealand's central bank cut interest rates to a new low and said more easing will be needed to return inflation to target, disappointing some investors who were looking for a more aggressive signal. The local dollar surged.

"Our current projections and assumptions indicate that further policy easing will be required to ensure that future inflation settles near the middle of the target range," Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler said on Thursday in a statement, after lowering the official cash rate by a quarter point to 2 per cent.