Central bank revealed when base rate may be decreased
Monetary policy must remain stringent until risks decline across the board, and so the 13 percent base rate and the 18 percent overnight rate will remain in place in the longer term, Barnabás Virág, deputy governor of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH), told a conference on Wednesday.
Virág told Aegon Asset Management’s Expectations in 2023 conference that Hungary’s economy had managed to “avoid grave scenarios” and growth remained above European Union average, while the economy has begun to adapt to changes in the energy market. Whereas price stability remains a priority, besides inflation, the current account will continue to be an important indicator. The current account balance has deteriorated this year due to rising energy costs, he noted.
Read also Central bank revealed when base rate may be decreased
Budget runs HUF 101 bn surplus in October, ministry confirms
The budget ran a 101.3 billion forint (EUR 248.3m) surplus in October, the finance ministry confirmed in a detailed reading of data released on Wednesday. The monthly surplus brought the January-October deficit to 2,590.4 billion forints. The central budget deficit was 2,683.9 billion forints at the end of October. The social security funds were 195.7 billion in the red, while the separate state funds had a surplus of 289.2 billion forints.
The full-year cash flow-based budget deficit target is 3,152.7 billion forints. The ministry noted that the government has ordered “disciplined” fiscal management at budget-funded institutions in an effort to make savings. “Thanks to those measures, the budget closed October with a surplus of over 100 billion, as it did in September,” it added. “The resources necessary to maintain regulated utility prices, a secure energy supply, to maintain family subsidies and to preserve the value of pensions are at hand,” it added.
Revenue from taxes and contributions rose by 17.1 percent in January-October from the same period a year earlier, the ministry said.
Read also Central bank revealed when base rate may be decreased
Source: MTI