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RBNZ Interest Rate Decision (OCR)
The Monetary Policy Committee sets the Official Cash Rate. The next decision is on Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM Wellington.
RBNZ interest rate decision on Dec 9, 2026
Reserve Bank of New Zealand · Monetary Policy Committee
- Wellington
- Wed, Dec 9 · 2:00 PM Wellington
- New York
- Tue, Dec 8 · 8:00 PM EST
- London
- Wed, Dec 9 · 1:00 AM London
- UTC
- Wed, Dec 9 · 1:00 AM UTC
- Your time
- 1:00 AM UTC
- Press conference
- 3:00 PM Wellington
- Projections
- No projections this time
- Expected
- No consensus yet
How NZD/USD reacts to the RBNZ decision
Measured on one-minute candles, every decision since January 2025, the same way each time. How we measure.
The first move usually held. In 9 of 13 measured RBNZ decisions the first spike was not closed back inside the hour-before range within 60 minutes; in 4 it was, and in 2 of those price then took the other side within four hours. The median move in the first 15 minutes was 30 pips.
| Date | Decision | Against expected | Hour before | First side | Closed back | After 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | ■ hold 2.75% | 25 bp more dovish than expected | 11 pips | ▼ 93 pips | No | −60 pips |
| Sep 2, 2026 | ▲ hike 2.75% | as expected | 11 pips | ▼ 42 pips | No | −37 pips |
| Jul 8, 2026 | ▲ hike 2.50% | as expected | 7.3 pips | ▲ 16 pips | No | +14 pips |
| May 27, 2026 | ■ hold 2.25% | as expected | 11 pips | ▲ 30 pips | No | +29 pips |
| Apr 8, 2026 | ■ hold 2.25% | as expected | 15 pips | ▲ 16 pips | 25 min | +4.7 pips |
| Feb 18, 2026 | ■ hold 2.25% | as expected | 8.8 pips | ▼ 32 pips | No | −23 pips |
| Nov 26, 2025 | ▼ cut 2.25% | as expected | 8.3 pips | ▲ 50 pips | No | +41 pips |
| Oct 8, 2025 | ▼ cut 2.50% | 25 bp more dovish than expected | 7.4 pips | ▼ 53 pips | No | −44 pips |
| Aug 20, 2025 | ▼ cut 3.00% | as expected | 12 pips | ▼ 60 pips | No | −56 pips |
| Jul 9, 2025 | ■ hold 3.25% | as expected | 15 pips | ▲ 12 pips | 25 min | −10 pips |
| May 28, 2025 | ▼ cut 3.25% | as expected | 25 pips | ▲ 0.5 pips | 10 min | +21 pips |
| Apr 9, 2025 | ▼ cut 3.50% | as expected | 16 pips | ▲ 19 pips | 40 min | −0.9 pips |
| Feb 19, 2025 | ▼ cut 3.75% | as expected | 11 pips | ▼ 20 pips | No | −4.2 pips |
Counts include the decisions where the first spike did not close back. Up and down are the pair NZD/USD. Past reactions describe what happened; they are not a forecast.
RBNZ rate decisions since 2024
Every RBNZ decision on the Official Cash Rate since 2024, newest first. Between 2.25% and 5.50% over the period. The full RBNZ rate history since 2008 has every decision, the cycles and a CSV.
| Date | Decision | Rate | Expected | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | ■ hold | 2.75% | Hike 25 bp to 3.00% | 2.75% | 0 bp |
| Sep 2, 2026 | ▲ hike | 2.75% | Hike 25 bp to 2.75% | 2.50% | +25 bp |
| Jul 8, 2026 | ▲ hike | 2.50% | Hike 25 bp to 2.50% | 2.25% | +25 bp |
| May 27, 2026 | ■ hold | 2.25% | Hold at 2.25% | 2.25% | 0 bp |
| Apr 8, 2026 | ■ hold | 2.25% | Hold at 2.25% | 2.25% | 0 bp |
| Feb 18, 2026 | ■ hold | 2.25% | Hold at 2.25% | 2.25% | 0 bp |
| Nov 26, 2025 | ▼ cut | 2.25% | Cut 25 bp to 2.25% | 2.50% | −25 bp |
| Oct 8, 2025 | ▼ cut | 2.50% | Cut 25 bp to 2.75% | 3.00% | −50 bp |
| Aug 20, 2025 | ▼ cut | 3.00% | Cut 25 bp to 3.00% | 3.25% | −25 bp |
| Jul 9, 2025 | ■ hold | 3.25% | Hold at 3.25% | 3.25% | 0 bp |
| May 28, 2025 | ▼ cut | 3.25% | Cut 25 bp to 3.25% | 3.50% | −25 bp |
| Apr 9, 2025 | ▼ cut | 3.50% | Cut 25 bp to 3.50% | 3.75% | −25 bp |
| Feb 19, 2025 | ▼ cut | 3.75% | Cut 50 bp to 3.75% | 4.25% | −50 bp |
| Nov 27, 2024 | ▼ cut | 4.25% | Cut 50 bp to 4.25% | 4.75% | −50 bp |
| Oct 9, 2024 | ▼ cut | 4.75% | Cut 50 bp to 4.75% | 5.25% | −50 bp |
| Aug 14, 2024 | ▼ cut | 5.25% | Hold at 5.50% | 5.50% | −25 bp |
| Jul 10, 2024 | ■ hold | 5.50% | Hold at 5.50% | 5.50% | 0 bp |
| May 22, 2024 | ■ hold | 5.50% | Hold at 5.50% | 5.50% | 0 bp |
| Apr 10, 2024 | ■ hold | 5.50% | Hold at 5.50% | 5.50% | 0 bp |
| Feb 28, 2024 | ■ hold | 5.50% | Hold at 5.50% | 5.50% | 0 bp |
How the Monetary Policy Committee decides
Reserve Bank of New Zealand · New Zealand
- Meetings
- Seven decisions a year.
- Announcement
- The decision is published at 2:00 pm Wellington time.
- Press conference
- On Monetary Policy Statement days the Governor holds a press conference at 3:00 pm.
- Projections
- Four of the seven decisions come with a full Monetary Policy Statement, including the Bank's own forecast track for the OCR; the others with a shorter Monetary Policy Review.
- Who votes
- The Monetary Policy Committee: four members from inside the Bank and three external members.
Check times against the bank's own calendar.
- The decision against what was expected.
- On Statement days, the published OCR track: the Bank's own forecast of its next moves.
- Whether the record of the meeting shows the committee divided.
Which way NZD/USD moves. NZD is the first currency in NZD/USD, so a hawkish surprise (a bigger hike, a smaller cut, a hold when a cut was expected) tends to push NZD/USD up, and a dovish one to push it down.
RBNZ meeting dates 2026 and 2027
Every upcoming RBNZ interest rate decision. Times in Wellington and New York; your own time is on each decision's page. By year: RBNZ meeting dates 2025 · RBNZ meeting dates 2026 · RBNZ meeting dates 2027.
| Date | Wellington time | New York | Expected | With projections | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Dec 9, 2026 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Dec 8 · 8:00 PM EST | Not yet | — | Preview → |
| Wed, Feb 10, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Feb 9 · 8:00 PM EST | Not yet | — | |
| Wed, Mar 17, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Mar 16 · 9:00 PM EDT | Not yet | Yes | |
| Wed, May 5, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, May 4 · 10:00 PM EDT | Not yet | — | |
| Wed, Jun 16, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Jun 15 · 10:00 PM EDT | Not yet | Yes | |
| Wed, Aug 4, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Aug 3 · 10:00 PM EDT | Not yet | — | |
| Wed, Sep 15, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Sep 14 · 10:00 PM EDT | Not yet | Yes | |
| Wed, Oct 27, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Oct 26 · 9:00 PM EDT | Not yet | — | |
| Wed, Dec 8, 2027 | 2:00 PM Wellington | Tue, Dec 7 · 8:00 PM EST | Not yet | Yes |
RBNZ interest rate decision: questions
What time is the RBNZ OCR announcement?
2:00 pm Wellington time, with a press conference at 3:00 pm on Monetary Policy Statement days.
When is the next RBNZ meeting?
The next RBNZ interest rate decision is on Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM Wellington, with the press conference at 3:00 PM Wellington. Times are in Wellington time; the meeting dates below give the rest of the schedule.
What is the RBNZ interest rate now?
The Official Cash Rate is 2.75%. The last change was an increase of 25 bp on Sep 2, 2026.
How does the RBNZ decision move NZD/USD?
The first move usually held. In 9 of 13 measured RBNZ decisions the first spike was not closed back inside the hour-before range within 60 minutes; in 4 it was, and in 2 of those price then took the other side within four hours. The median move in the first 15 minutes was 30 pips. NZD is the first currency in NZD/USD, so a hawkish surprise (a bigger hike, a smaller cut, a hold when a cut was expected) tends to push NZD/USD up, and a dovish one to push it down. Past reactions describe what happened, not what will.
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