Kim Mundy: ASB acting chief economist on ASB's latest forecast indicating inflation could stay up for the rest of the year

Best of Business · Oct 4, 2026 · 4m · transcript

Inflation could keep running hot for the rest of the year, driven by high prices at the pump and our weakening NZ dollar.

ASB's latest quarterly economic forecast predicts the Reserve Bank will push the OCR up two more times, to 3.25 percent.

It also expects unemployment to stick around 5.6 percent and house prices to flatline.

But acting chief economist Kim Mundy says the economy's shown some resilience and should gradually build momentum.

"At least, for the here and now through til the end of the year - and maybe early 2027. We expect that growth will still remain quite uneven."

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