Mark your calendars: Key OCR dates for 2023

***This content has been updated. You can read the most recent version of this article here.***

After being hit by one bumper interest rate increase after another (after another) this year, we’ll bet we’re not the only ones wondering what the Reserve Bank’s got in store for us in 2023.

The current forecast says the Official Cash Rate (OCR) could peak as high as 5.5% as the RBNZ continues its battle against rampant inflation, which would mean we’ve got another 1.25% to climb from the current level.

But now they’ve set us firmly on track for a recession, and with more and more Kiwi cutting back on their discretionary spending in order to survive higher rates, the sense across the market is that it won’t need to get that far before the economy is brought under control.

OCR announcement dates for 2023

After a period of much-needed respite over the holiday break, the RBNZ will be back to its regularly scheduled programming from late February.

There are two types of OCR announcement over the course of the year. Quarterly Monetary Policy Statements (in bold) are more in-depth - and may be where the RBNZ revises its forecasts. Monetary Policy Reviews are more of an interim update, or check-in, between MPS announcements.

Here’s the full list of dates for 2023:

• 22^nd February - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR
• 5^th April - Monetary Policy Review & OCR
• 24^th May - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR
• 12^th July - Monetary Policy Review & OCR
• 16^th August - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR
• 4^th October - Monetary Policy Review & OCR
• 29^th November - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR

However next year plays out, we’ll be watching closely - with plenty of commentary over on the Squirrel blog to help make sense of what the Reserve Bank announcements mean for Kiwi homeowners and our housing market.

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