Interest rates have gone up again. Why it won’t affect the prices that matter most

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images As anticipated, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has raised the official cash rate (OCR) by 0.25 basis points to 2.75%. This was arguably the bank’s most closely watched policy announcement of the year. Landing barely nine weeks before the November 7 election, the decision will ripple through mortgage rates, business confidence and household budgets. But behind the headlines lies a harder truth: a large share of the inflation squeezing Kiwi households is being driven…