Czech Central Bank Unexpectedly Keeps Key Rate Stable

The Czech central bank unexpectedly left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low on concern further cuts would fuel inflation even as the eastern European economy’s recession deepens.

Policy makers kept the two-week repurchase rate at 1.5 percent at their meeting today in Prague after lowering it a quarter of a percentage point last month, Ceska Narodni Banka said. Risks to inflation are “balanced,” and chances of a significantly deeper-than-projected economic slump are waning, Governor Zdenek Tuma said. Read more…