The Reserve Bank has held the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 2.5% in its latest review.
The dollar plummeted following the decision, losing nearly a cent against the US dollar. By late Thursday morning it was buying 80.2c US, down from its three-year high of more than 81c US on Thursday.
In its statement accompanying the decision the central bank says the economic outlook remains uncertain following the 22 February Christchurch earthquake.
It notes some pickup in confidence and spending by consumers and farmers but says this is not yet feeding through to inflationary pressure.
It says that once one-off price rises - such as excise tax rises - are taken into account, inflation remains within its target band, and it's likely the cash rate will remain unchanged for some time.
