WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Grant Spencer said on Thursday that the new government's plan to add employment to the bank's mandate was unlikely to have a major impact on monetary policy.
Spencer said in a media conference that the widened mandate would not make much difference because the bank already looked at a range of economic variables alongside inflation.
Spencer added that the changes, which the government plans to introduce in 2018, could prompt the RBNZ to allow greater volatility in inflation to provide more stability in employment once its mandate was changed.
The comments came after the bank announced its decision to hold the official cash rate at 1.75 percent for the seventh consecutive meeting.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by Toby Chopra)
