The Official Cash Rate: the decision behind the headline
The OCR is the Reserve Bank’s main monetary policy tool; banks set their own mortgage and deposit rates in response to wider conditions.
On this page
- OCR read on 4 October 2026 (NZ time)
- 2.75%Reserve Bank, official cash rate
- Last decision
- 2 September 2026Reserve Bank, September OCR decision
- Decision maker
- Reserve Bank Monetary Policy CommitteeReserve Bank, September OCR decision
- Retail rates
- Set by banks, rather than fixed at the OCRReserve Bank, official cash rate
What the OCR is
The Official Cash Rate is the Reserve Bank’s main tool for controlling inflation. It affects what banks earn on deposits with the Reserve Bank and what they pay when borrowing from it. These wholesale conditions influence borrowing and saving across the economy. The OCR is therefore a policy rate, rather than a quoted mortgage rate or a rate promised on a household savings account. Reserve Bank, official cash rate (opens in a new tab).
The latest decision and the read date
Read on 4 October 2026 (New Zealand time), the Reserve Bank’s OCR page states 2.75%, updated on 2 September 2026. The September decision records that the Monetary Policy Committee reached consensus to increase the OCR to that level. The Committee decides monetary policy using its assessment of inflation and economic conditions. The read date identifies when this guide verified the figure; it is different from the decision date. Reserve Bank, September OCR decision (opens in a new tab).
Why retail rates can move differently
Banks set their own customer rates. The Reserve Bank identifies credit risk, operating costs, competition, the exchange rate and expectations about future OCR decisions as factors in that pricing. Changes can take time to pass through, and a fixed-rate loan does not change during its fixed term. A policy announcement therefore does not establish the price or timing of an individual bank’s next offer. Reserve Bank, official cash rate (opens in a new tab).
A decision is different from a forecast
The September statement discusses risks around inflation and the economic recovery. It explains that future decisions depend on the Committee’s judgement of the balance of risks to medium-term inflation. It also expressly says the future OCR path is not predetermined. A published outlook is conditional on economic developments; it is not another decision already made or a schedule of guaranteed future interest rates. Reserve Bank, September OCR decision (opens in a new tab).
A calculator uses a scenario rate
The mortgage calculator uses the rate entered for its repayment scenario. This guide does not replace that input with the OCR or infer a lender’s margin from the policy rate. An assumed rate is not a forecast, a bank offer or a recommendation about fixing a loan. The calculation also does not model the timing of future policy decisions or determine the retail rate available to a particular borrower.