Economic and political commentator Bernard Hickey says the Reserve Bank could have waited six weeks to raise the official cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.5 per cent.
It is the first time the central bank has increased the benchmark rate in seven years, as it aims to tackle rising inflation.
Hickey told Breakfast: "We're not really sure what's going to happen with this lockdown."
He said the OCR had been raised during a risk of another global financial crisis, pointing out the US Treasury market may default and China's economy was slowing down due to the collapse of its biggest property development company.
Hickey said the idea the housing market is at unsustainable levels and higher interest rates will make it more sustainable is potentially true, but was not the Reserve Bank's job.
The central bank has said its objective to support sustainable house prices as monetary stimulus is reduced.
He said the Reserve Bank's job was to keep consumer price index inflation under control.
Bernard Hickey says it could have waited about six weeks to see what was happening with Auckland's lockdown. (Source: Other)
"The Government getting the Reserve Bank to do it’s dirty work leaves the Government a bit more space not to do the things it should do, which is tax wealth and unleash massive housing supply."
Hickey described New Zealand now being out ahead of its peers, as Australia, the US, UK and Europe have said a rise in their OCR is at least a year away.
Only Norway, Poland and South Korea have recently raised their OCRs.
SHARE ME