Anna Breman: Reserve Bank Governor on whether the Middle East conflict could drive up the OCR episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 8, 2026 · 4 MIN

Anna Breman: Reserve Bank Governor on whether the Middle East conflict could drive up the OCR

from The SME Stream · host iHeartRadio NZ

The Reserve Bank says there are still plenty of unknowns, after today's Iran ceasefire announcement and resultant oil price drop. It's held the Official Cash Rate at 2.25 percent, but is forecasting inflation could surge to 4.2 percent this quarter. Governor Anna Breman says that figure could be much lower if things settle in the Middle East. But she says if not, fuel costs could rise more, pushing inflation even higher. "The worst case scenario is that firms that are already squeezed feel like they have to pass these costs onto consumers, and that we see inflation getting embedded into the economy." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Anna Breman: Reserve Bank Governor on whether the Middle East conflict could drive up the OCR

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The Reserve Bank says there are still plenty of unknowns, after today's Iran ceasefire announcement and resultant oil price drop. It's held the Official Cash Rate at 2.25 percent, but is forecasting inflation could surge to 4.2 percent this quarter....

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