Czech National Bank lowers benchmark interest rate to 1,7 percent

The Czech National Bank slashed its benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to a record low of 1.75 percent on Thursday. The new rate is lower than the eurozone benchmark which the European Central Bank cut to 2.0 percent in January. The steep cut by the Czech National Bank was expected because of low inflation and a slowdown of the economy. Analysts polled by the CTK news agency said that lending rates may well continue to fall this year, possibly to 1.0 percent.