East European Central Banks May Ignore ECB Rate Rise Signal

Eastern Europe’s central banks will probably keep borrowing costs unchanged in the coming weeks as they try to bolster an economic recovery, ignoring accelerating inflation and a signal that the European Central Bank will raise its benchmark rate.

Czech policy makers left rates unchanged today and the central banks of Hungary and Romania will follow suit next week, according to all seven analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Four of the seven also expect no change in Poland at a policy meeting on April 4-5. Eleven of 17 economists forecast no change in Russia’s main rate when central bankers meet tomorrow.