The Reserve Bank has left the official cash rate unchanged at a record low of 0.25 in its latest Monetary Policy Statement.

The decision to keep the cash rate on hold was widely expected by economists.

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr said the RBNZ reaching in the second quarter of this year.

The Kiwi dollar rose by 0.5 percent to US72.64c.

The bond buying (quantitative easing) programme will remain unchanged.

The biggest bet in global economics right now is on whether post-Covid inflation will prove to be a short-term blip or a more persistent structural problem.

At issue is whether central banks, like the US Federal Reserve, will be able to hold the line on low rates or whether they'll be forced to hike, to head off inflation.

More to come