Financial Times FT.com

New Zealand surprises with rate rise

By Raphael Minder in Sydney and Peter Garnham in London

Published: June 7 2007 04:18 | Last updated: June 7 2007 04:18

The New Zealand dollar surged to its highest level in 22 years against its US namesake yesterday as the country’s central bank caught the markets off guard and raised interest rates for the third time since March.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted its benchmark interest rate – already the highest in the industrialised world outside Iceland – 25 basis points to 8 percent.

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