WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) – New Zealand’s reserve bank stunned markets on Wednesday by expanding its bond-buying programme and alerted that policy rates might have to go below zero to revive the coronavirus-battered economy as the country was plunged back into lockdown.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand broadened its large scale asset purchase (LSAP) programme to as much as NZ$100 billion ($6539 billion), from NZ$60 billion formerly, and extended the deadline for purchases out to mid-2022 It left rates of interest at an all-time low of 0.25%, as commonly expected.

Highlighting policymakers’ readiness to step-up support, the RBNZ stated it is also actively considering a plan of extra monetary tools, consisting of negative rates of interest and inexpensive funding to banks. The purchase of foreign assets also stay an option.

” The Bank sent its clearest message yet that negative rates are coming,” stated Ben Udy of Capital Economics.

” We still expect the Bank to wait until next year before bringing the OCR into unfavorable territory, though the threat now is that the Bank moves faster instead of later on.”

In reaction to the central bank’s statement, the New Zealand dollar NZD= D3 slipped 0.5%to $0.6540

The central bank’s dovish tone comes as New Zealand re-introduced movement limitations earlier in the day due to the emergence of a coronavirus cluster after sailing through for more than 100 days without COVID-19 cases in your home.

The discovery of four contaminated relative in Auckland led Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to promptly reimpose tight constraints on motion in New Zealand’s greatest city and travel restrictions across the whole nation.

” Offered the ongoing health uncertainty, there stays a disadvantage danger to our standard financial scenario,” RBNZ said in a post-meeting statement.

In addition, members agreed the reserve bank ought to maintain the versatility to change the rate and composition of bond purchases.

” The Committee likewise agreed that any future transfer to a lower or negative OCR, if complemented by a Funding for Lending Programme, could supply a reliable way to provide financial stimulus in addition to the broadened LSAP if required.”

The RBNZ stunned markets with a 75- basis-point cut in March as the coronavirus emerged in the country, but has given that left it the same.

The pandemic jolted the economy into its worst downturn in nearly three decades in the first quarter, and gdp is anticipated to have actually contracted even more in the June quarter, tipping the country into its very first economic crisis given that2010

Recent information had shown that the economic effect of the pandemic was not as dire as first feared, with joblessness rates falling, inflation seen getting and the real estate market being durable.

All the same, the Auckland infection cluster has actually increased the unpredictability about the outlook.

” Short of cutting the OCR today, it’s hard to envision a more dovish result,” ANZ bank’s chief financial expert Sharon Zollner said.

” The problem provided last night has ramped up uncertainty, however certainly not done anything to reduce the odds of more OCR cuts next year.”