Economy / Interest rates
Are interest rates high?
2.81%overnight interbank rate, which tracks the Reserve Bank's official cash rate, Oct 2026
3.25%90-day bank bill rate, which drives floating and short-term mortgage rates (2.58% a year earlier)
5.01%10-year government bond yield, which drives longer fixed rates (4.08% a year earlier)
3.7%consumer price inflation, year to the Sep 2026 quarter
Interest rates and inflation
Overnight rate90-day bank bills10-year bondsCPI inflation
After inflation
90-day rate minus annual inflation
About these numbers
Interest rates are monthly averages from the OECD's financial market statistics, which it collects from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The Reserve Bank's own tables can't be downloaded automatically, so they aren't used here.
After inflation ("real") rates subtract annual CPI inflation for the quarter each month falls in. A negative real rate means savings lose buying power.
Sources: OECD (monthly financial statistics, to Oct 2026); Stats NZ consumers price index.