Central bank · NZDUsual scheduleLive week from the calendar

RBNZ rate decision: release time and what it moves

Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Usually a Wednesday, with no fixed time. What it is, what traders watch and how the WhitePips rules treat trading around it.

  • Seven decisions a yearhow often
  • 2:00 PMWellington time
  • Redusual calendar rating

RBNZ on this week's calendar

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Times in your own time zone and in New York; releases already out are dimmed. Red is high impact, Amber medium; the ratings are the calendar feed's.

Central bankNZD

What RBNZ is

RBNZ rate decision

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's Monetary Policy Committee sets the Official Cash Rate, New Zealand's main interest rate, seven times a year. Some decisions come with the full Monetary Policy Statement and new forecasts, the rest with a shorter Monetary Policy Review.

New Zealand is a small, open economy, so the New Zealand dollar reacts strongly to the decision and to the projected path of the cash rate the Bank publishes with its forecasts.

When it comes out

Published by
Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Monetary Policy Committee
How often
Seven decisions a year
Usual day
Usually a Wednesday
Usual time
2:00 PM Wellington time: 01:00 UTC during New Zealand daylight time (late September to early April), 02:00 UTC the rest of the year, which is the evening before in New York; a press conference follows an hour later
On the calendar as
Official Cash Rate, RBNZ Rate Statement, RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, RBNZ Press Conference
Usual rating
Red

What traders watch

The cash rate decision

Against what the market priced.

The projected rate path

In Monetary Policy Statement months, where the Bank expects rates to go.

The press conference

The Governor's tone on the next move.

On MetaTrader 5Pip value, lots and commission

Symbols RBNZ moves

The WhitePips symbols that usually react most to RBNZ. Each page has the pip or point value, a lot-size example and the commission on every plan.

NZDUSDNew Zealand dollar / US dollarNZDJPYNew Zealand dollar / Japanese yenAUDNZDAustralian dollar / New Zealand dollarEURNZDEuro / New Zealand dollarGBPNZDBritish pound / New Zealand dollarNZDCADNew Zealand dollar / Canadian dollar
Trading Rules, section 11In the rules' own words

Trading RBNZ at WhitePips

CFD plans Every plan, every stage

News trading is permitted on every CFD plan. You may open, hold and close positions before, during and after economic releases on every CFD plan, in the evaluation and once funded. There is no restricted window around a release on a CFD account, and no profit is removed because a trade was placed around news.

News straddling is not permitted. On every CFD plan, you may not open straddled, offsetting or hedged exposure on the same or correlated instruments within 15 minutes before or after a scheduled Red or Amber (high or medium impact) economic event, a company earnings release, or a major geopolitical announcement, where the purpose is to capture the volatility of the event rather than to take a view on its outcome. Placing a buy and a sell (or a buy stop and a sell stop) on the same instrument, or opposite positions on correlated instruments such as EURUSD and USDCHF, so that whichever way the price jumps one side profits, is straddling. A single position, or positions in one direction, taken on your own view of the release is not.

Trading Rules, sections 11.1 and 11.2. Each straddle is detected and referred to the risk desk, never penalised automatically.

Futures plans One Step funded, Instant

Futures plans. On the futures plans news trading is permitted during the One Step evaluation. On a funded futures account (One Step funded and Instant) no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release; a position opened before the window may be held through it. Profit from such a trade is removed and the loss stays. The first and second violations are warnings, and the third is referred for compliance review. A news trading violation never ends an account automatically. The releases are those marked as high impact in the economic calendar shown in the dashboard or notified to you.

Trading Rules, section 11.4.

CFD plans: no straddling−15 min to +15 minFunded futures: no trade opened or closed−2 min to +2 minRBNZ
−20 min−15−2+2+15+20 min
A single position taken on your own view, before or after the release, is fine on every CFD plan. On a funded futures account a position opened before the two-minute window may be held through it.

Section 11 of the Trading Rules News trading, explained

QuestionsShort answers

RBNZ: questions

What time is RBNZ released?

2:00 PM Wellington time: 01:00 UTC during New Zealand daylight time (late September to early April), 02:00 UTC the rest of the year, which is the evening before in New York; a press conference follows an hour later. Usually a Wednesday.

How often is RBNZ released?

Seven decisions a year. Usually a Wednesday. The exact dates are set by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand; the dashboard's economic calendar shows the coming week.

Can I trade RBNZ on a WhitePips account?

On every CFD plan, yes: news trading is allowed in the evaluation and once funded. What is not allowed is straddling, opening both directions (or offsetting positions on correlated instruments) within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike; the risk desk reviews it. On a funded futures account, no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release.

Which markets move most on RBNZ?

On the WhitePips platforms: NZDUSD, NZDJPY, AUDNZD, EURNZD, GBPNZD.

What time is the RBNZ decision in New York?

2:00 PM Wellington time is the evening before in New York: around 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM, depending on the time of year, because New Zealand and the US change their clocks in opposite seasons.

CFDs and futuresNo time limit

Put the numbers to work

Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. News trading is allowed on every CFD plan.

See the plansTrading calculator