Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
TODAY'S MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
ICBC reduced rates for both six months and one year; Kiwibank did the same. The 4.39% six month fixed rate now offered by ICBC is the lowest for that fixed term by any bank.
TODAY'S DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
There have been a lot of savings account reductions. They came from ANZ, NZCU South and BNZ. The key points are a wide range of reductions across many accounts from ANZ; their Online savings account now pays just 1.25%, down -25 bps; their SchoolPlus account now pays just 1.45%, also down -25 bps. And their Serious Saver account now has a potential rate of 3.05%, down from 3.20%. BNZ reduced their Personal OnCall account rate to 1.25%, down -25 bps and made a similar cut to their Total Money interest rate that applies from $100,000 and over, also to 1.25%.
UPWARD PRESSURE
MBIE rent levels from their bond transactions are all bumping up against all-time highs - but only Wellington 3br house rents actually pushed through to a new high, of $510 per week in January.
DOING ITS JOB
The ANZ Commodity Price Index slipped a further -2.3% month-on-month in January, led by falls in wool, skins, cheese and whole milk powder prices. The fall in world prices was mostly offset by a lower NZD/USD, with local prices down just -0.4% m/m in January. World prices are down -14.7% year-on-year, but in NZD terms they have receded only -1.6% year-on-year, so the NZD has been largely doing its job, said ANZ.
EQUITIES MIXED
Equities are mixed today. The NZX is up but less than +0.5%, the ASX is down -0.6%, and Shanghai is up +1.20%. This follows Wall Street that ended flat after starting the session low.
MORE PAIN TOMORROW MORNING ?
Ahead of tomorrow morning's dairy auction - which last time slipped -1.2% - we are seeing the dairy futures signaling further falls. They may well be larger this time.
WHOLESALE RATES RISE
We have seen a +2 and +3 bps rise across the board today with the faintest firming bias. The 90 day bank bill rate however fell -4 bps to 2.65%. That suggests markets are pricing in a 40% chance of a cut to the OCR by the end of May.
NZ DOLLAR ALSO RISES
The Kiwi dollar has firmed today. It is now at 65.5 USc, at 92.1 AUc, and at 60.1 euro cents. The TWI-5 is up to 71. Check our real-time charts here.
You can now see an animation of this chart. Click on it, or click here.
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