Nine To Noon Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson
Mar 23, 2026
Rebecca Stevenson, senior journalist at Business Desk who covers markets and policy. She unpacks Reserve Bank messaging around inflation and policy trade-offs. She describes volatile oil market moves and a tenfold surge in local oil futures trading. She highlights younger investors using advanced trading apps and shifts toward ETFs, defence stocks and self-directed KiwiSaver strategies.
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Reserve Bank Will Watch Duration Not Just Size
- Anna Brehmann frames the Reserve Bank response around duration and entrenchment of inflation rather than immediate price spikes.
- The Bank will tolerate temporary overshoots but act if higher inflation expectations become embedded in wages and prices.
Businesses Choosing Caution To Avoid Feeding Inflation
- Businesses are adopting a 'wait and see' stance to avoid knee-jerk moves that could fuel inflation.
- Large users like Fletcher Building are delaying decisions while watching for fuel shocks that could halt activity.
Retail Oil Futures Trading Has Surged Tenfold
- Oil futures trading by New Zealand retail customers spiked roughly tenfold month-on-month after the Middle East conflict began.
- More retail traders are going long, betting prices will rise amid volatility.