Hungary’s National Bank carried through on its promise to end rate cuts by leaving its two-week deposit rate at a record 2.1 percent low. This was the first time in 24 months the bank failed to cut the rate, which stood at 7 percent in 2012. Bank officials claim to be balancing competing concerns over supporting economic recovery with cheaper credit as well as fears of inflation getting out of control. The bank’s president, Gyorgy Matolscy, revealed the bank’s strategy in July, when he said the current rate would be left in place until the end of the year. In its statement on Tuesday, the bank said it would keep “loose monetary conditions for an extended period.” Consumer price inflation moved out of negative territory in July but remains low at 0.1 percent.
