RBNZ’s Hawksby: The implications of covid19 are not over, either globally or here in New Zealand

Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby crossed wires, via Reuters, during the early Thursday morning in Asia. The policymaker highlighted the coronavirus (COVID-19) risk while citing all possible policy actions on the table.

Key quotes

RBNZ balance sheet will continue to grow as it supports the economy.

The size and composition of the balance sheet will become a more active tool for a monetary policy decision.

Not the bank's goal to minimize financial risk on the balance sheet ‘during these unprecedented times’.

The implications of Covid19 are not over, either globally or here in New Zealand.

 Lower or negative OCR, funding for lending program, purchases of foreign assets, and interest rate swaps all remain possible policy options.

FX implications

NZD/USD fails to respect downbeat comments from the RBNZ policymakers while consolidating the previous day’s losses around 0.6560.