(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand central bank governor Adrian Orr said he wishes more people would read the bank’s detailed report on its policy deliberations rather than relying on journalists or analysts.
Speaking to the Peterson Institute in Washington early Thursday New Zealand time, Orr said the Reserve Bank’s record of meeting — a read-out of the issues the Monetary Policy Committee considered when making a rate decision — is the best way to understand the bank’s thinking.
“I would love people to be reading that,” he said. “It is a true source of how we got to the decision we made.”
“I haven’t really talked to anyone who’s ever actually directly read the Monetary Policy Statement or the record of the meeting. Most people get it second-hand, filtered through a journalist’s mindset or a financial analyst’s position talking.”
Orr faced criticism when the RBNZ cut rates in August because it was a dramatic pivot from May, when the central bank had expressed a tightening bias and forecast it wouldn’t begin an easing cycle until the second half of 2025. His response was that the bank had softened its tone in July. The most significant indication of a change in stance arguably came in the record of meeting.
Orr said today it “always surprises me” that financial markets focus on the RBNZ’s rate forecasts, which are only published quarterly.
Policymakers are worried about “communication challenges and how we can articulate,” he said, adding they need to communicate with perspective, empathy and “the courage to make the big calls.”
“Because it’s perspective, empathy and courage that builds the trust between us and the public,” Orr said. “If trust is only ever going to be (based) on how accurate our most recent forecast was, you’re not going to build big trust.”
At its October meeting, the RBNZ stepped up the pace of easing with a 50 basis-point cut. Since then, there has been speculation that the bank could accelerate further with a 75-point reduction at its final decision of the year on Nov. 27.
Orr appeared to push back against that narrative today, saying the RBNZ is still concerned about lingering inflation pressures and will be “circumspect” and “incremental” with its policy easing.
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