Source : BLOOMBERG New Zealand's central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate to a record 8 percent, saying housing demand and consumer spending are fanning inflation. ``A sustained period of slower growth in domestic activity will be required to alleviate inflation pressures,'' Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said in a statement released in Wellington today. A 60 percent surge in world prices of dairy products the past six months has boosted farmers' incomes and will stoke inflation next year, he said.
I was pretty young (almost teenager), but I seem to remember getting around 18% on my savings account. My parents had some sort of term-deposit thing that was paying out something in the low 20's. I'm certainly not saying it's going back to those times. Just shedding some historical light. Kind regards, MK