NZ Delta Covid variant outbreak spreads outside Auckland – new local lockdowns

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has placed a snap-lockdown on additional regions. into a snap lockdown.

• Auckland’s scheduled relaxation of restrictions today looks to be on shaky ground with 30+ new cases yesterday

Looking further ahead, Ardern has said that strict lockdowns will end once 90% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated (NZ is around 46%)

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand meet this week, Wednesday, with expectations they’ll hike the cash rate by 25bps. The Bank was on track to do so at its previous meeting in August but was derailed the day prior by the outbreak. Although expectations are they’ll hike this week, the persistent nature of the outbreak and now this widening of restrictions is food for thought.