WELLINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - New Zealand's debt management office has increased its domestic bond buying programme to NZ$8.0 billion, NZ$1.0 billion higher than that announced at the 2016 Budget.
Further out, the forecast bond programme for 2019/20 decreases to NZ$6.0 billion, leaving the total programme unchanged from the 2016 Budget.
The government downgraded its budget surplus estimate for 2016/17, largely due to an estimated NZ$1 billion in net costs related to a devastating earthquake that rocked the island nation last month.