BUDAPEST, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Exceeding analyst expectations, the Monetary Council of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) raised the bank's base rate by 125 basis points to 13 percent on Tuesday.
The overnight deposit rate was also increased by 125 basis points to 12.50 percent, and the overnight and one-week collateralized lending rates were raised by 125 basis points to 15.50 percent.
"Today's raise concludes the central bank's 16-month interest rate hike cycle," MNB President Gyorgy Matolcsy explained to journalists.
The MNB's financial rigor and its fight against inflation have been reinforced, he said, also by involving other instruments.
Inflation will continue its upward trajectory in the coming months, but the factors behind this are largely beyond the monetary policy horizon, MNB Vice President Barnabas Virag said. He cited the recent changes to the regulations on utility prices and this summer's drought as examples.
This was the MNB's 17th rate hike since June 2021. The base rate has not been this high since February 2000.
According to the latest official data released on Sept. 8, the inflation rate in Hungary stood at 15.6 percent in August, well over the 3 percent target set by the MNB.
