Wellington, February 18 (QNA) - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as was widely expected, reaffirming the need to maintain accommodative monetary policy for some time to support the economic recovery.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand decided to hold the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.25 percent.

The bank indicated that the first possible rate increase could be near the end of the current year if the economy grows as expected, and it favored the continuation of an accommodative monetary policy over the coming period.

It also predicted that inflation, which jumped to 3.1 percent last quarter, would return to the target range of one to three percent during this quarter. (QNA)