Central Bank in Hungary Leaves Base Rate Unchanged at 13%
- 29 Mar 2023 12:09 PM
- Hungary Matters
Hungarian central bank rate-setters left the base rate of 13% unchanged at a regular policy meeting.
At the last policy meeting on Feb. 28, the Monetary Council stuck to the base rate maintained since last September, while keeping the one-day deposit rate at 18%.
At either end of the interest corridor, the 12.5% O/N deposit rate and the 25% O/N secured loan rate were also kept in place. The decision was in line with the expectations of analysts.
In a statement released after the meeting, the Council said it was necessary to maintain the current level of the base rate over a prolonged period, which it said would ensure that inflation expectations are anchored and the inflation target is achieved in a sustainable manner.
It said the central bank was constantly assessing incoming data and developments in the inflation outlook and was “ready to take appropriate actions if risks increase”.
At a press conference after the meeting, National Bank of Hungary deputy governor Barnabás Virág said disinflation was set to begin accelerating in the coming months and there was a good chance that inflation would fall into the single digits by the end of the year.
A quarterly Inflation Report discussed by policymakers at the meeting shows the central bank puts average annual inflation this year in a range of 15.0-19.5%, unchanged from the forecast published in the previous report late in December.
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