Westpac has announced it will be increasing some of its home loan and term deposit rates from the start of next week. <\/p>\n
The bank’s one-year fixed home loan special rate will increase by 0.10% to 4.69%, while the 18-month rate will go up 0.14% to 5.59%. <\/p>\n
Standard fixed rates also increased, rising 0.10% to 5.29% for the one-year loan and 0.14% for the 18-month loan. <\/p>\n
The rate for an 18-month term deposit increased 0.20% to 4.00% per annum, while a two-year deposit increased by 0.10% to 4.20% per annum.<\/p>\n
The new rates would take effect on Monday next week. <\/p>\n
Earlier, ANZ announced it would lift its two-year special rate from 5.09% to 5.29% and its one-year rate from 4.59% to 4.69%.<\/p>\n
ANZ’s term deposits between 18-months and five years were also lifted by either 20 or 10 basis points.<\/p>\n
Last week, ANZ’s chief economist, Sharon Zollner, said she expected the OCR<\/a> to rise three times this year, starting as soon as July. <\/p>\n The changing interest rates also come as banks deal with moving wholesale interest rates, which drive what it costs banks to borrow the money they lend. <\/p>\n The oil crisis created by the war in the Middle East has driven up prices, raising concern that the Reserve Bank and other central banks might have to increase interest rates to slow inflation. <\/p>\n The Reserve Bank held the OCR steady at 2.25%<\/a> last week. <\/p>\n Reserve Bank says the global picture has changed markedly since the\u00a0previous\u00a0update in February.\u00a0 (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n It said the monetary policy committee was focused on ensuring inflation returned to the 2% target midpoint over the medium term, which requires core inflation and wage growth to remain contained and medium- and long-term inflation expectations to remain around 2%.<\/p>\n “If these conditions are not met, decisive and timely increases in the OCR<\/a> would be required.”<\/p>\n