{"id":635965,"date":"2026-10-20T05:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/635965\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T05:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:22:10","slug":"what-happened-today-interest-co-nz-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/635965\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened today | interest.co.nz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today (or if you work from home, before you shutdown your laptop).<\/p>\n<p>MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES<br \/>No changes to report today. All current mortgage rates are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/borrowing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>. And note, you can compare mortgage offers with our unique calculator that takes into account other costs and cashback incentives, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/calculators\/home-loan-comparison-calculator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>TERM DEPOSIT\/SAVINGS RATE CHANGES<br \/>No updates to report here either today. But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/personal-finance\/140741\/saving-through-pie-structure-can-give-your-after-tax-earnings-boost-we-have\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">this review<\/a> of term PIE options may be useful. All updated term deposit rates less than 1 year are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/saving\/term-deposits-1-to-9-months\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a>, for 1-5 years, they are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/saving\/term-deposits-1-to-5-years\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;FAMILY FRIENDLY&#8217;<br \/>September data shows that children and older people are making up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/economy\/140739\/those-aged-19-years-and-people-aged-50-plus-made-almost-40-residence-visa-approvals\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an increasing share of migrants<\/a>. Those aged up to 19 years and people aged 50-plus made up almost 40% of residence visa approvals in the September year<\/p>\n<p>EFFICIENCY DELIVERED<br \/>K\u0101inga Ora&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beehive.govt.nz\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-10\/Kainga%20Ora%20Annual%20Report%202025-26.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">annual report<\/a> is out, claiming some impressive improvements both as a developer of community housing and as a landlord of their 78,300 housing stock.<\/p>\n<p>NZX50 DIPS AGAIN<br \/>As at 3pm, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/investing\/140757\/here-are-key-changes-know-about-new-zealand-equity-market-nzx-50-falls-03-gentrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the overall NZX50 index is down -0.3% today<\/a>. From a week ago it is down -1.0%. But from six months ago it is up +5.4%. From a year ago it is up +1.8% now. Market heavyweight F&amp;P Healthcare is up +0.5% so far today. Gains are led today by Gentrack, Oceania, Heartland and Vital Healthcare. Declines are led by Channel Infrastructure, Scales, Meridian and Skellerup.<\/p>\n<p>BANKING DIETs<br \/>In Australia, major bank NAB <a href=\"https:\/\/yourir.info\/e4600e4db4d0cc89-nab.asx-3A704448\/NAB_NAB_simplifying_operating_model_and_improving_alignment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">said<\/a> it will be cutting 2500 jobs from its 42,000 workforce in a &#8216;simplification&#8217; drive. BNZ says this only applies to NAB&#8217;s Aussie workforce, not New Zealand. (You may recall that earlier, ANZ announced plans to shed 3500 jobs in September, a handful in New Zealand. And Westpac Group drip-fed job cuts in March, May and October, but they amount to less than 1000, also a few locally.)<\/p>\n<p>INDIA FTA BECOMES EFFECTIVE<br \/>The free trade deal between New Zealand and India is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beehive.govt.nz\/release\/india-fta-now-open-business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">now active<\/a>. From today, 57% of our exports to India are tariff-free. That rises to 82% over time. In total, 95% of current exports will have tariffs removed or cut. Key outcomes from today include tariffs removed on sheep meat, wool and coal, tariffs removed on more than 95% of forestry and wood exports, and a preferential quota access for apples, kiwifruit and milk albumins. A second round of tariff cuts follows\u00a0on 1 January 2027.<\/p>\n<p>NO RATE CHANGE IN CHINA<br \/>As expected, the October Prime Loan Rate review in China has resulted in no changes. These two rates remain at record lows.<\/p>\n<p>SWAP RATES HIGHER<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/charts\/interest-rates\/swap-rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Wholesale swap rates<\/a> will likely be firmer today by about +3 bps. Keep an eye on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/charts\/interest-rates\/swap-rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">our chart<\/a> below which will record the final positions closer to 5pm. The RBNZ 90 day rate was up +4 bps to 3.30% on Monday. Today, the Australian 10 year bond yield is up +3 bps at 5.27%. The China 10 year bond rate is now at 1.63% and down -2 bps. The Japanese 10 year bond is now at 2.91% and up +1 bp. The NZ Government 10 year bond rate is now at 5.09% and up +5 bps from yesterday. (The RBNZ 10 year rate is &#8216;prior day&#8217; and was up +1 bp at 5.01% on Monday.) And the UST 10yr yield is now at 5.13% and up +7 bps from this time yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>EQUITIES MOSTLY EASE<br \/>The NZX50 has softened another -0.3% so far today. But the ASX200 has opened down -0.7%. Tokyo is down -0.9%. The KOSPI is down -3.2% at its open. Hong Kong is down -1.1% in early Tuesday trade while Shanghai down -0.3%. Singapore is also down -0.3% in early Tuesday trade. Wall Street ended its Monday session on a firmer note with the S&amp;P500 up +0.4 and the Nasdaq up +1.1%.<\/p>\n<p>OIL MIXED<br \/>American oil prices have eased -US$2 from yesterday with the WTI benchmark now at just over US$98.50\/bbl, while the international Brent price is just under US$109.50\/bbl but up +US$1.50.<\/p>\n<p>CARBON PRICE UNCHANGED<br \/>There have been no trades reported today so the price is unchanged, still at $50\/NZU. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/charts\/rural\/carbon-price\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">daily chart tracker<\/a> of the NZU price for carbon, courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emstradepoint.co.nz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">emsTradepoint<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>GOLD SLIPS<br \/>In early Asian trade, gold has slipped, down -US$47\/oz from yesterday, now at US$4132\/oz. Silver is down -50 USc at US$57\/oz.<\/p>\n<p>NZD FIRM<br \/>The Kiwi dollar is up almost +20 bps from yesterday at just under 56.7 USc. Against the Aussie we are up +10 bps at just under 81.2 AUc. Against the euro we are up +20 bps at 50.5 euro cents. This all means the TWI-5 is now just under 60.5 and up +20 bps.<\/p>\n<p>BITCOIN AMBLES ALONG<br \/>The bitcoin price is now at US$81,689 and down -1.0% from this time yesterday. Volatility has remained modest at just over +\/- 1.1%.<\/p>\n<p>Select chart tabs<\/p>\n<p>                          US$<br \/>\n                            AU$<br \/>\n                            TWI-5<br \/>\n                            \u00a5en<br \/>\n                            \u00a5uan<br \/>\n                            \u20acuro<br \/>\n                            GBP<br \/>\n                            Bitcoin<\/p>\n<p>Select chart tabs<\/p>\n<p>                          1 year %<br \/>\n                            2 years %<br \/>\n                            3 years %<br \/>\n                            4 years %<br \/>\n                            5 years %<br \/>\n                            7 years %<br \/>\n                            10 years %<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/rural-news\/soil-moisture-animation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792473730_366_soil-moisture-2026-10-17.gif\" title=\"click to go to animation page\"\/><br \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>This soil moisture chart is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/rural-news\/soil-moisture-animation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">animated here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Keep abreast of upcoming events by following our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interest.co.nz\/economic-calendar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Economic Calendar here \u00bb<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today (or if you work&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[916,910,914,138,912,219,111,139,69,915,911,913],"class_list":["post-635965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-banking","tag-bonds","tag-borrowing","tag-business","tag-currencies","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-saving","tag-term-deposits","tag-twi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}