The Reserve Bank has signalled it wants interest rates to stay unchanged for some time.

It's kept the Official Cash Rate at 5.5 percent, matching predictions.

But Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr says he's surprised, because the RBNZ seems more concerned about inflation than Kiwibank is.

"I think they came out with a very strong message that we want to keep wholesale rates high, we want to keep lending rates high, to be absolutely certain that inflation will return to target."

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