The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) quarterly survey of expectations showed that business managers forecast inflation at 2.37% for the next two years in Q1 2026, the highest reading since Q1 2024 and up from 2.28% in the previous quarter. One-year inflation expectations also rose to 2.59% from 2.39%, marking the highest in seven quarters. Additionally, longer-term projections showed that five-year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 2.31% from 2.22%, and ten year expectations went up to 2.3% from 2.18%. In terms of monetary policy, respondents expect the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to stand at 2.25% by the end of March 2026, unchanged from the previous three-month period. The adjustment follows the RBNZ’s recent decision to cut the OCR by 25 basis points to 2.25% on 26 November 2025.