Central bank board likely to increase bases rate again later this month

The board of the Czech National Bank is likely to raise the base interest rate by 0.75 percentage points or more at its meeting later this month, the outgoing governor of the central bank  Jiří Rusnok said in an interview for Aktuálně.cz. The base interest rate is now at 5.75 percent, the highest since 1999. The board last raised it at the beginning of May in what was the sixth above-standard base rate increase of more than 0.25 percentage points in a row.

Aleš Michl, who will take over as the central bank governor in July, was one of the two board members who argued for keeping interest rates stable at the May monetary meeting, and has indicated that he will not propose further hikes when he takes office.