New Zealand's central bank left the benchmark interest rate unchanged for the fifth straight meeting, as widely expected, on Wednesday and suggested that the rate will remain tight for a sustained period of time. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, governed by Adrian Orr, decided to hold the Official Cash Rate at 5.50 percent. The bank had raised its policy rate sharply from 0.25 percent since October 2021. Policymakers said that interest rates need to remain at a restrictive level for a sustained period of time to ensure that inflation returns to the target range.