Stay informed before you conclude your workday with these essential financial updates.
Mortgage Rate Adjustments
Bank of Baroda has lowered its mortgage rates, offering relief to home loan borrowers. For the most up-to-date rates, visit Interest.co.nz.
Term Deposit and Savings Rates
BNZ has reduced its term deposit rates, no longer offering a 5% six-month rate. Bank of Baroda has also made rate cuts. Check the latest term deposit rates for terms less than 1 year here, and for 1-5 years here.
Banking Complaints
The latest quarterly report from the Banking Ombudsman service reveals that ANZ leads with the most complaints, at 256 cases in the quarter. Following closely were ASB, Kiwibank, Westpac, and BNZ. Only ANZ, BNZ, and Westpac reported complaint levels below their market share.
High Interest Payments, Yet Extra Repayments
Residential mortgage borrowers paid $22.3 billion in interest for the December quarter, marking a 26% increase from 2023 and an 86% surge from 2022. Despite the higher interest payments, borrowers made additional repayments of $4.4 billion in the December quarter and $16 million for the entire year of 2024, indicating no signs of mortgage stress.
Reduced Use of Mortgages as ATMs
Mortgage top-ups saw a significant decline in 2024, dropping to the lowest rate in a decade. Currently, only 11% of new loans are for mortgage top-ups, a stark contrast to the 20% rate seen in 2019. This trend shows a shift away from using houses as ATMs.
Australian Market Outlook
Australia reported a 2.4% CPI rate for Q4, a slight improvement from the Q3 figure of 2.5%. However, the Monthly Inflation Indicator saw a rise in December to 2.5%, a four-month high. Despite mixed signals, markets anticipate a potential RBA rate cut on February 18.
Stable Swap Rates
Wholesale swap rates are expected to soften slightly, influenced by global forces. Keep an eye on Interest.co.nz’s chart for updates. Key global rates include a 3.96% 90-day bank bill rate, a 4.42% Australian 10-year bond yield, a steady 1.64% China 10-year bond rate, a 4.62% NZ Government 10-year bond rate, and a 4.53% U.S. Treasury 10-year yield.
Mixed but Subdued Equity Performance
The NZX50 showed a minor 0.1% gain compared to the previous day. The ASX200 climbed 1% due to expectations of a rate cut. Japanese markets advanced by 0.4% in early trade, while Hong Kong and Shanghai moved slightly in either direction. Singapore rose 0.1%, and Wall Street closed its session up 0.9% on the S&P500.
Firmer Oil Prices
Oil prices increased slightly, settling just under $74 per barrel in the U.S. and $77.50 per barrel for Brent.
Carbon Price Dips
The carbon price experienced another dip to $63.25 per NZU, staying within its narrow range. The next unit auction is scheduled for March 19, 2025. Explore Interest.co.nz’s new daily chart tracker for the latest carbon price data, provided courtesy of emsTradepoint.
Gold Prices
Gold prices rose by $22, reaching $2,764 per ounce in early Asian trade.
NZ Dollar Trends
The New Zealand dollar saw a slight decline of 10 bps, closing at 56.6 US cents. Against the Australian dollar, it strengthened by 40 bps to 90.8 AU cents, while holding steady at 54.2 euro cents. The TWI-5 index stood at 67.2.
Stable Bitcoin
Bitcoin maintained its position at $101,764, with minor volatility fluctuating around +/- 1.7% over the past 24 hours.
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