At a regular policy meeting on Tuesday, Hungarian central bank (NBH) rate-setters cut the base rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%, while lowering both ends of the interest rate corridor to the same extent.
In a statement released after the meeting, the Council said inflation data was consistent with the projection in the June Inflation Report. It said the growth of the Hungarian economy, high foreign exchange reserves, the persistent current account surplus, the government’s deficit reduction measures and a cautious approach to monetary policy all improved the country’s risk perception, adding, at the same time, that geopolitical tensions and the risks to the outlook for inflation “continue to warrant a careful and patient approach”. Among the favourable domestic trends, the Council highlighted the improvement in consumer confidence, the increase in real wages and growing household consumption. “With the pick-up in the production of new industrial capacities built recently, balanced economic growth is expected from 2025, and Hungary’s export market share is likely to increase,” the statement said. The Council put GDP growth at 2.0-3.0% for this year and inflation between 3.0% and 4.5%. It said it was “constantly assessing incoming macroeconomic data, the outlook for inflation and developments in the risk environment, based on which it will take decisions on the level of the base rate in a cautious and data-driven manner”.