WELLINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - New Zealand Central Bank Governor Adrian Orr on Tuesday said the central bank still had some work to do but the tightening cycle was already very mature.
"We still have some work to do but the good news is because we've done so much already the tightening cycle is very mature, it's well advanced," Orr said at the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Alternative Economic Strategy Launch in Wellington.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) last month delivered its seventh straight interest rate hike, taking the benchmark rate to 3.0%.
Orr added that there was still a little more to do before the central bank could return to its "normal happy place, which is to watch, worry and wait for signs of inflation up or down."
While New Zealand was a "wonderful place" with regard to employment, wage growth was not in such a great place.
"Real wages are being challenged by high inflation. Our job as central bankers is to get that denominator - to get actual inflation - down," he said.
The New Zealand dollar hit a fresh multi-year low on Monday.
Orr noted that the decline of the New Zealand dollar was due to the increase in the U.S. dollar as people moved their capital back into the United States as it was perceived as safe. (Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Mark Porter and Stephen Coates)
