Westpac Retail Spending Pulse, May 2026

May was another soft month for the retail sector, with per-person spending on...

09 Jun 2026 Economic data and RBNZ

New Zealand’s economy is slouching, not stalling.

New Zealand’s economy has continued to slouch along over the past couple of months...

08 Jun 2026 Weekly Commentary

RBNZ creeping towards hikes

It was a big week for policy announcements in the New Zealand economy...

02 Jun 2026 Weekly Commentary

NZ Agri Bites

The impact of the Iran conflict is likely to be supportive of prices in the near term...

29 May 2026 Agri

New Zealand Government Budget 2026

Budget 2026 unexpectedly revealed a relatively robust fiscal outlook as the...

28 May 2026 Economic data and RBNZ

Review of RBNZ May 2026 Monetary Policy Statement

As widely expected, the RBNZ held the OCR at 2.25%. The three internal members...

27 May 2026 Economic data and RBNZ

Westpac RBNZ client pulse survey, May 2026

Our May Westpac Client Pulse survey of 139 clients showed that most expect no change...

25 May 2026 Economic data and RBNZ

To hold or not to hold, that is the question.

This Wednesday’s RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement is shaping up as one that will likely...

25 May 2026 Weekly Commentary

Preview of RBNZ May 2026 Monetary Policy Statement

We expect the RBNZ to leave the OCR unchanged at its meeting on 27 May....

21 May 2026 Economic data and RBNZ

RBNZ monetary policy scenarios, May 2026

We lay out some plausible arguments the RBNZ might consider to motivate an OCR hike...

21 May 2026 Economic data and RBNZ

Under the pump

The New Zealand economy has entered a far more challenging phase than expected earlier...

18 May 2026 Weekly Commentary

Preview of New Zealand Budget 2026

Prior to the Iran war, Budget 2026 was set to reveal a rare improvement in...

14 May 2026 Economic data and RBNZ