Economics
Czechs Signal No Rush to Raise Rates Much More After Second Hike
- Central bank in Prague raises benchmark rate to 0.5 percent
- New forecast predicts higher money-market rates in 2018
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The Czech central bank delivered its second interest-rate hike of 2018, but its message that it won’t be in a hurry to further raise borrowing costs in one of Europe’s best-performing economies drove the koruna to a two-week low.
The bank increased the benchmark rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent on Thursday, the second bump since August and in line with the forecasts from 22 out of 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It also raised its forecasts for next year’s inflation, prompting the board to debate whether the economic situation warranted a bigger increase than the one approved.