New Zealand's Reserve Bank has held the official cash rate at 5.5 per cent, denying hawkish calls to raise further.
Governor Adrian Orr announced on Wednesday afternoon the central bank would keep the OCR at the same restrictive level it has sat at since May 2023.
Orr said below-trend global growth was expected to help the RBNZ's push to bring inflation back to its target band of one to three per cent.
However, he revealed the RBNZ's monetary policy committee discussed a potential 25 basis point lift, before arriving at a "comfortable consensus" to hold.
"We certainly didn't discuss a cut," he said.
"On the table was a hold or do we need to do more.
"It was a very strong consensus that the OCR is doing sufficient, and the economy has been evolving as anticipated."
New Zealand is currently in a shallow recession, with growth in reverse during the last two quarters.
Headline inflation, as measured by the consumers price index, peaked at 7.3 per cent in mid-2022 and was most recently measured at 4.7 per cent.
By comparison, Australia's CPI inflation sits at 4.1 per cent, with an OCR at 4.35 per cent.
As it does once a quarter, the Reserve Bank also published a new range of forecasts on Wednesday, indicating it believes CPI will next drop inside the target band in the September 2024 quarter.
However, its forecast tracking does not have the official cash rate falling below its current level until June 2025, meaning relief for mortgage-holders could be more than a year away.
At recent OCR announcements, Mr Orr has sounded the alarm over the "stickiness" of Kiwi inflation, and particularly non-tradeable, or domestic inflation.
The governor was more upbeat on the current settings after a quarter worth of new data.
"It's been very pleasing to see actual inflation, headline inflation, and measures of underlying inflation all decline (and) comforting to see inflation expectations decline," he said.
Mr Orr did acknowledge that the elevated OCR - which was lifted at nine consecutive meetings including every meeting in 2022 from 0.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent - had created challenges for many.
"We feel for home owners and people who are financially stressed at the moment," he said.
"The cost of living challenge has become a choice of living challenge.
"People are going to have to make budget choices in the time ahead, with their banks."
