Hungary
Pause Continued in Hungarian Monetary Policy
August 23, 2011
Officials at the Magyar Nemzeti Bank left the two-week deposit rate at 6.0% for another month. This decision was widely expected. The interest rate benchmark has been held at that level for the past seven months after three consecutive tightenings of 25 basis points each administered in the final two months of 2010 and January […] More
Hungarian Central Bank Base Rate Held at 6.0%
June 20, 2011
For a fifth straight month, officials at the Magyar Nemzeti Bank left their Base Rate at 6.0%. Three prior increases of 25 basis points were implemented last November, December and January. The rate was reduced previous to that some fourteen times from a cyclical peak of 11.5% to a low of 5.25% between November 2008 […] More
No Change in Hungary’s Monetary Policy
March 28, 2011
Magyar Nemzeti Bank officials decided to keep their base rate at 6.00%. This is the same action as taken at the February meeting and follows three consecutive hikes of 25 basis points in November, December and January. Hungary was hit by several cost-push shocks, which have lifted CPI inflation to 4.0% or above since October. […] More
Hungarian Monetary Policy Paused After Three Rate Increases
February 21, 2011
Following increases of Magyar Nemzeti Bank’s Base Rate by 25 basis points each on November 29, December 20, and January 24, such was left steady at 6.25% this month. 625 basis points of easing was provided in fourteen steps from November 2008 to April 2010. Real GDP is expected to expand in both 2011 and […] More
A Second Hungarian Central Bank Rate Hike
December 20, 2010
Magyar Nemzeti Bank, which had cut its base rate fourteen times from 11.5% at the start of November 2008 to 5.25% by end-April 2010, announced a second consecutive monthly advance of 25 basis points to 5.75%. A statement released by officials today cited the likelihood that inflation will remain above target due to cost-push shocks […] More
Hungary Gets its First Rate Hike of the Cycle
November 29, 2010
The base rate of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank was raised to 5.5% from 5.25% in a move that caught most analysts by surprise. Other East European central bank rates such as Poland’s 3.5%, Romania’s 6.25%, and the Czech Republic’s 0.75% remain at their cyclical lows. From November 2008 through April 2010, the base rate in […] More
Hungarian Base Rate Held Steady at 5.25% as Expected
October 25, 2010
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive monthly meeting citing the prolonged period of sub-trend economic activity and an uncertain inflation outlook. On-year CPI inflation edged up a tenth to 3.8% last month but had eased 2.2 percentage points over the previous four months. Domestic demand remains weak. […] More
Hungarian Central Bank Base Rate Left at 5.25%
September 27, 2010
Hungary’s base rate has been at 5.25% since a 25-basis point cut in April. Such had been the tenth consecutive monthly reduction and fifth drop in a row of 25 basis points in size. Earlier rate history included a 300-basis point jump in October, followed by a 50-bp cut in November, two cuts of 50 […] More
Hungary and Poland Monetary Policy Decisions: No Changes
August 24, 2010
Yesterday the Magyar Nemzeti Bank announced no change in Hungary’s central bank Base Rate of 5.25%. Fourteen reductions totaling 625 basis points between November 2008 and April 2010 had been implemented earlier. There have been no hikes yet, but some informal consideration of such appears to have been entertained, since a new statement from officials […] More
Hungary’s Monetary Policy Bias Pivots
July 19, 2010
Magyar Nemzeti Bank officials left their key interest rate at 5.25% as they had done at their June and May meetings and as analysts were expected. But for the first time, an explicit possibility of a rate hike is mentioned; the second to last sentence of a statement released today reads, “A sustained increase in […] More
