Reuters published the following article:

New Zealand's central bank hiked interest rates on Wednesday for the first time in seven years and signalled further tightening to come, as it looks to get on top of inflationary pressures and cool a red-hot housing market.

The 25 basis point rate hike marks the start of a tightening cycle that had been expected to begin in August, but was delayed after an outbreak of the coronavirus Delta variant and a lockdown that is continuing in its biggest city Auckland.

The increase in the cash rate to 0.50% by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) had been forecast by all 20 economists polled by Reuters.

The New Zealand dollar briefly rose after the announcement but fell back to $0.6930, in line with broader market moves.

"It was pretty much in line with what everyone was picking," said Jason Wong, senior market strategist at BNZ in Wellington. "We're on a path towards a series of rate hikes and the market is well priced for that."

Announcing its decision, the RBNZ said further removal of monetary policy stimulus was expected, with future moves depending on the medium-term outlook for inflation and employment.

The rate hike puts New Zealand ahead of most other developed economy nations as central banks look to wind back emergency-level borrowing costs, although countries including Norway, the Czech Republic and South Korea have already raised rates.

In neighbouring Australia, the central bank held interest rates at a record low 0.1% for an 11th straight month on Tuesday.

Economists expect the benchmark rate to reach 1.50% by the end of next year and 1.75% by the end of 2023, the Reuters poll showed.