Photo: 123RF
The country's biggest bank has reduced its fixed home loan rates across a number of terms.
ANZ's six-month rate drops by 40 basis points to 6.09 percent for a standard rate and 5.49 percent for the special.
The one-year rate drops by 30bps, to 4.99 percent for the special and 5.59 percent for the standard.
The 18-month rate also drops to 4.99 percent.
A rate of 4.99 percent for two years had previously been the lowest advertised rate in the market.
All the major banks moved their floating home loan rates when the official cash rate was cut last week, but fixed falls have been slower to happen.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Squirrel chief executive David Cunningham earlier said that he thought a 4.5 percent home loan rate was increasingly likely.
A number of economists now expect that the official cash rate will have to fall further than it initially was expected to, because of the economic impact of the US trade tariffs.
Kiwibank economists are now calling for a 2.5 percent cash rate, down from the current 3.5 percent. "The outlook is weaker and global risks are escalating," they said.
ASB's economists said they expected a 2.75 percent trough in the rate and said the inflation data due this week should reinforce to the Reserve Bank that inflation was in line with its expectations.
Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said it was likely that fixed home loan rates would fall given the drops that had happened in wholesale swap rates.
But he said banks would be concerned about potential volatility.
"You don't want to reduce your mortgage rate today and then have wholesale rates up 30bps tomorrow and you have to change your rate again."
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