Economics
Hungary Vows ‘Safe Distance’ From Zero Rates After Another Cut
- Back-to-back 15 basis-point cuts take base rate to 0.6%
- Policy makers signal move may be end of monetary easing
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Hungary’s central bank looked to assure investors that it won’t join Europe’s rush toward zero interest rates after it cut its benchmark a second time in as many months.
The rate-setting Monetary Council on Tuesday reduced the benchmark by 15 basis points to 0.6%, in line with the majority of estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Policy makers signaled that they may stop there to shield local assets from heightened volatility during the coronavirus crisis. At the height of the pandemic’s first wave, the central bank was forced to hike borrowing costs to arrest a currency slide.