Economists are picking there’ll be no change to the Official Cash Rate when Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard makes his sixth announcement of the year on Thursday.

Market watchers agree the patchy economic recovery and rising cost of the Canterbury earthquake will discourage Dr Bollard from putting any more pressure on the economy.

Federated Farmers is pushing this line as well.

Acting economics spokesperson Lachlan McKenzie says international markets are tough enough for most farmers already.

“If the OCR holds, it will give farm businesses certainty around their financial positions through to the end of this year.

"Even before we feel the impact of the Canterbury earthquake, we’re feeling the hurt of an appreciating dollar, the US currency is suffering and we’re now over 73 cents."

Lachlan McKenzie says a rise doesn’t make sense while the productive sector is paying the bills for the Government.

"The Government has been spilling money into the economy to prop it up, and their appetite for debt is huge.

"That’s keeping the dollar up, and it’s the farming and [the] export sector that’s having to pay the bills.”