Skip to content |Go to main menu |Go to searchBudapest - The Monetary Committee of the Hungarian Central Bank (NBH) today increased the base interest rate by one percentage point to 11.75 percent.The bank thus continues to aggressively tighten monetary policy in an attempt to limit inflation and support the domestic currency.This follows from a statement published after the meeting of the Monetary Committee.The increase in the base interest rate is in line with analysts' expectations.Hungary has the highest interest rates in the EU.The NBH became the first central bank in the EU to raise interest rates in June 2021. Since then, it has raised them by more than ten percentage points and is expected to continue the trend despite estimates that the economy will slow.The Hungarian central bank is trying to reduce inflation by raising interest rates.It is expected to peak at 20 percent this year.In July, it rose to 13.7 percent, far exceeding analysts' estimates.At the same time, inflation in the country continues to accelerate.The Hungarian forint is doing the worst of all Central European currencies.This year, it has lost about nine percent against the euro, complicating the NBH's rate decisions.While the Hungarian central bank continues to raise interest rates, the banking board of the Czech National Bank left the basic interest rate at seven percent at the beginning of August.According to Reuters, it could be the first in the region to end monetary policy tightening, although it has left the door open to further hikes if needed.Romania's central bank slowed the pace of policy tightening in August, but the country is expected to raise interest rates further.Poland's central bank could also tighten policy further, its governor Adam Glapiński said this week.In the second half of July, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 0.50 percent.It thus proceeded to raise interest rates for the first time since 2011.Hungary economy finance ratesISSN: 1213-5003 © Copyright 2022 ČTKToday is Friday, September 2, 2022ISSN: 1213-5003 © Copyright 2022 ČTKFree on AppStore Free on Google play