The Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, becoming another Asian central bank that was caught off guard recently. Few economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted this move; one said he was simply “dumbfounded.” Investors also didn't expect it, and the New Zealand dollar fell as a result. In the past two weeks, in the face of market expectations of interest rate hikes, the central banks of Indonesia and Singapore also chose to stay on hold, while the Bank of the Philippines unexpectedly chose to raise interest rates sharply. This shows that due to the combination of multiple risks, it is more difficult for Asian central bank policymakers to determine policy direction, and it is also more difficult for investors to interpret policy signals. The global energy shock caused inflation to be higher than the target, and it also dragged down consumers. The AI chip boom has also boosted prices and boosted exporters, but has overshadowed sluggish demand in other sectors of the Asian economy.

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