7 April 2003
1 At its meeting held on 7 April 2003, the Monetary Council of the MNB considered the latest economic and financial developments and left the central bank base rate unchanged at 6.50%.
Judging from data for recent weeks, the latest economic developments do not contradict the underlying assumptions in the Bank's February Report on Inflation. Several signs suggest that economic agents are starting to adjust to a lower inflation path. Despite the armed conflict in Iraq, the exchange rate of the forint has not seen significant and prolonged weakness, and its movements have been in line with the level required to meeting the Bank's forecasts. In addition, the current global disinflationary environment is also conducive to bringing down domestic inflation to a relatively low rate.
2 The Council discussed the framework of the next issue of the Quarterly Report on Inflation, to be published on 12 May.
3 The Monetary Council approved the procedural rules for publishing Hungary's financial accounts.