Forint Dives to Nine-Month Low on Rates, EU Democracy Showdown
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Hungary’s forint dropped to a nine-month low as falling inflation stoked prospects for interest-rate cuts and lawmakers backed constitutional changes some European Union members say undermine democracy.
The forint plunged the most among 31 major currencies after the statistics office in Budapest said today that price growth slowed more than analysts estimated to a seven-year low. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose lawmakers yesterday backed a constitutional amendment to limit judicial authority and this month brought in a new central bank leadership, today urged lower interest rates to boost the economy and called for Hungarians to own at least half the banking system.