The Christchurch earthquake means the Reserve Bank is now unlikely to raise the Official Cash Rate (OCR) again until next year, ASB economists say.

The New Zealand dollar opened firmer this morning as anxiety about the global economy eased.

Fran O'Sullivan writes that Phil Goff has been handed a couple of political aces - but how he plays them remains to be seen.

This makes the decision about choosing to fix or float that little bit tougher.

While increasing the OCR this morning, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has indicated that future hikes won't be as aggressive as earlier tipped.

The NZ dollar has tumbled this morning, after Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard signalled that future interest rate rises will be more modest than earlier indicated.

Bollard's statement carried a thinly veiled warning about the consequences of passing on GST increases.

The NZ dollar climbed to a six-month high as a surge in new home sales in the US stoked investors' appetite for higher-yielding, or riskier, assets.

It's clear the economy has become dependent on the debt growth fuelled by the housing market's ever-increasing values.

The Reserve Bank is tipped to raise the Official Cash Rate next week, despite lower than expected economic growth.

Over a third of kiwi households will have to use credit to pay for otherwise unaffordable expenses if the Reserve Bank increases interest rates in the coming months, according to a new survey.

Economists expect the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates further late this month, despite lower than expected inflation figures.

New CPI figures show prices rose 0.3 per cent for the June 2010 quarter, meaning annual inflation is running at 1.8 per cent.

The New Zealand dollar may be little changed over the next five days after a 3.2pc surge last week took it above 71 US cents for the first time in a fortnight.

Auckland house sales slumped 16pc in June, with the average sale price falling 3.6pc from a year ago, says real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson.

In a new statement of intent, the Reserve Bank says it is looking at new tools to support the traditional Official Cash Rate.

Phil Goff says the Labour Party would require the Reserve Bank to pursue broader objectives.