Tight Monetary Policy Needs to Be Maintained

At the February meeting of the Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), the members of the Monetary Council unanimously decided to keep the interest rate at its current level for a longer period of time, according to the Deputy Governor of the MNB, Barnabás Virág.

At the press conference following Tuesday's interest rate decision, he called for a continued cautious, patient and stability-oriented approach to monetary policy, stressing that the uncertain international environment and inflation outlook justify the maintenance of tight monetary conditions.

He added that a tightly geared monetary policy contributes to maintaining financial market stability by ensuring positive real interest rates and to the sustainable achievement of the inflation target.

He indicated that the risk of a higher inflation path this year has further increased based on the data received, and the high level of strong repricing and inflation expectations seen in the services sector is not consistent with a sustainable achievement of price stability.