Investors favour the New Zealand dollar as a resurgent economy led to the country being the first in the developed world to raise interest rates this year, following the global financial crisis. The central bank has hiked the benchmark rate twice in the last two months and signalled more rises are planned.
However, Wheeler today signalled rate rises may not be as regular as previously assumed if the exchange rate remains strong.
That would weaken tradables inflation and be a factor in the bank's view of the "extent and speed" of hikes in interest rates, Wheeler said.
"When the exchange rate rises there is less need to hike," said Imre Speizer, senior market strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Auckland. "It seems like a long time ago that we heard anybody talking about the potential for intervention, so it's been raised, causing a fall in the kiwi, clearly, and I think there might be further fall out from this tonight. It perhaps implies they're a little bit closer to the possibility of intervention."
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