Reserve Bank: Brian Fallow on OCR cut

The Reserve Bank cut the benchmark rate a quarter-point and signalled more may be on the way as the dairy sector's weak outlook weighed on the nation's terms of trade and threatened to delay an increase in inflation from its near-zero level. New Zealand Herald's Economics Editor, Brian Fallow, analyses the decision. The New Zealand dollar tumbled. Governor Graeme Wheeler lowered the official cash rate to 3.25 percent, in a closely watched decision where markets were largely split on whether he would cut rates now or later, saying a more pronounced slump in export prices than expected and the prospect of waning consumer demand on increasing petrol prices threatened to keep a lid on already low inflation.