Hungarian National Bank’s base rate decision not surprising for experts

The Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) decided to leave the central bank base rate unchanged at 6.50pc at a monthly policy meeting on Tuesday.

The Council also left the O/N deposit rate at 5.50pc and the O/N collateralised loan rate at 7.50pc. The rates mark the ends of the central bank’s symmetric interest rate corridor, the Hungarian News Agency wrote.

In a statement released after the meeting, the Council said the decision to keep the base rate on hold was taken “in line with the stability-oriented approach”.

The Council affirmed its commitment to achieving the inflation target in a sustainable manner and said maintaining tight monetary conditions was warranted.

“The Council is constantly assessing incoming macroeconomic data and factors influencing the inflation outlook, in particular repricings at the start of the year and the stability of financial markets, based on which it will take decisions on the level of the base rate in a cautious and data-driven manner from meeting to meeting,” the policy makers said.