Latest news with #NationalBankofHungary
Bloomberg
24-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hungary to Hold Rates as Price Curbs Fall Short: Decision Guide
Hungary's central bank is likely to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a ninth month, holding steady amid mounting geopolitical risks and persistently high inflation expectations. The National Bank of Hungary will keep its benchmark rate at 6.5% on Tuesday, according to all 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey. That's tied with Romania for the highest key rate level in the EU.
Budapest Times
23-06-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Orbán: Hungary is fighting two important battles with Brussels
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary is fighting two important battles with Brussels over government measures freezing interest rates for retail borrowers and mandating caps on markups for a range of food and non-food products. During his regular interview with public radio, PM Orbán said the rate freeze had saved around 300,000 households HUF 55bn, so far. Phasing the measure out would put around one-tenth of those borrowers at risk of bankruptcy, he added. PM Orbán said the rate freeze was necessary until the cost of borrowing fell with a reduction of the base rate by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH). Without the mandatory caps on markups, he said the prices of most of the affected products would rise significantly. He acknowledged retailers' motivation to boost earnings but said some profit was 'unjustified' and, past a certain degree, 'could ruin people'.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Hungarian central bank to leave base rate steady again, eyeing CPI risks: Reuters poll
BUDAPEST, May 23 (Reuters) - Hungary's central bank will keep interest rates unchanged again next Tuesday, according to a Reuters poll that expects hardly any loosening in monetary policy through to the end of 2025, due to inflation risks. All 14 analysts surveyed between May 19 and 23 said the base rate would stay at 6.5% for the 8th straight month at the May 27 policy meeting as the National Bank of Hungary tries to cut inflation with an economic recovery much weaker than expected. The poll's median projection is for the base rate to inch down to 6.25% by the end of 2025. On Thursday, Hungary's central bank governor, Mihaly Varga, said inflation expectations must be anchored in order for the bank to reach its inflation target in a sustainable manner, adding the fight against inflation is "not yet over". The central bank left its benchmark base rate steady in a unanimous decision in April and said a careful and patient approach to monetary policy was still needed. Hungarian inflation exceeded 5% in the first two months of the year before retreating to 4.8% in March and 4.2% in April. "We expect the NBH to keep its base rate unchanged at 6.50% at its upcoming meeting on May 27 and to retain its cautious forward guidance for the key policy rate to remain at its current level for a prolonged period of time," Morgan Stanley economist Georgi Deyanov said in a note. "We expect the central bank to acknowledge the improving inflation outlook but continue highlighting elevated risks to it and to hint at potential downside revisions to both its GDP and inflation forecasts at the subsequent June core meeting." New governor Varga, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's former finance minister, has ruled out rate cuts for the foreseeable future despite the poor GDP growth outlook. The poll sees Hungary's economy growing by only 1% this year, below the central bank's latest forecast for 1.9% to 2.9% published in March. Standard & Poor's cut Hungary's credit rating outlook to negative from stable last month. Two other rating agencies, Moody's and Fitch, are both expected to review their assessment of Hungary's credit standing in the coming weeks.
Budapest Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Varga: New management of NBH is committed to achieving and maintaining price stability
Governor Mihály Varga said the new management of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) is committed to achieving and maintaining price stability while improving the efficiency and practical application of the central bank's work. At a meeting of the Big Companies Club of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK), Varga said the NBH would focus on the tasks in its legal mandate in future, while cooperating with economic and financial market players to support sustainable economic growth. He acknowledged the impact on Hungary's economic outlook of increasing uncertainty on global economic and financial markets amid the drawn-out war in Ukraine, the tariffs war and the stagnation of the German economy, and pointed to the emergence of recession and inflation risks. Although the strong foundations of the Hungarian economy give reason for optimism, Varga said the global tariffs war could affect macroeconomic developments in Hungary, noting that the central bank had put average annual CPI at 4.5pc-5.1pc and GDP growth at 1.9pc-2.9pc for 2025 in a forecast released in March. Varga said the NBH's new management would concentrate on strengthening the fulfillment of its basic tasks, increasing transparency and efficiency, while rationalising other tasks. He highlighted the central bank's recently established cooperation with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) and an agreement with lenders on streamlined, more transparent and cheaper fees that would reduce retail banking costs and bring down inflation.
Budapest Times
31-03-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Gulyás: Government may have to raise pensions to match rate of inflation
Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister's Office, said at a weekly press briefing on Thursday that the government may have to raise pensions by around 1.3pc in November to match the rate of inflation. Gulyás said that the government calculated an average annual inflation of 4.5pc in 2025. He said the government had allocated over HUF 90bn for the the resulting inflation-linked top-up which is required by law. The 1.3pc pension rise in November translates as HUF 39,600, in absolute terms, for the average pension, Gulyás said. He said that Mihaly Varga, the National Bank of Hungary's new governor, had presented the central bank's latest forecasts at the cabinet meeting. The central bank puts average annual inflation at 'at least' 4.5pc in 2025, he added. Gulyás said inflation could be better than expected with the rollout of a government-mandated cap on markups of some basic foods. The new measure has cut prices of 874 products by 17.5pc on average, he added.
