Bollard's speech on the OCR

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said: "There are welcome signs that economic activity is growing again.

"Activity in New Zealand's trading partners continued to rebound during the September quarter and financial market sentiment has improved further.

However, there remain significant vulnerabilities and challenges to be worked through in many economies.  This process could weigh on global growth going forward.

"In New Zealand, the housing market has reversed some of the decline in prices experienced over the past couple of years and a very gradual increase in household spending appears to be taking place.  Government spending is also supporting activity.  Business spending, however, remains weak and credit growth is very subdued.