Central Banks
Czechs Can’t Afford to Accelerate Cuts, Central Banker Says
- Prochazka favors keeping current pace of Czech monetary easing
- Domestic inflation risks, hawkish Fed are reasons for caution
The Czech central bank in Prague.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Persistent inflation risks and hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve are preventing the Czech central bank from accelerating its interest-rate cuts, according to board member Jan Prochazka.
Policymakers in Prague lowered borrowing costs by half a percentage point at each of their last two meetings, although a minority on the rate-setting panel sought an even bigger move in March. The bank should maintain the current pace of easing on May 2 and potentially beyond as it seeks to stave off a resurgence in price growth, Prochazka said on Wednesday.