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Policymakers said elevated energy prices, rising yields and uncertainty over the global outlook warranted a cautious approach.
The council also maintained its symmetric interest rate corridor, keeping the overnight deposit rate at 4.5% and the overnight collateralized lending rate at 6.5%.
“Maintaining the current interest rate conditions is necessary to achieve the inflation target in a sustainable manner,” the council said in a statement after the meeting.
“The high level of energy prices, the rising yield environment, as well as the uncertainty surrounding the global economic and financial market outlook warrant a careful approach to monetary policy,” it added.
Looking ahead, policymakers said Hungary’s risk assessment would be influenced mainly by the fiscal path, expectations regarding euro adoption and external market conditions. They also acknowledged that economic policy measures and their reception by markets affect the room for monetary policy maneuver.
“The Council is constantly assessing the inflation outlook, global developments, and Hungary’s risk premia, based on which it will take decisions on the level of the base rate in a cautious and data-driven manner,” the statement said.
At a press conference after the meeting, MNB Governor Mihály Varga said the council had taken into account the central bank’s new 2.5% inflation target, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2028, given monetary policy’s five- to eight-quarter horizon.
The forint had traded in a stronger range in recent months, he said. Foreign exchange market stability helped anchor inflation expectations and supported achievement of the medium-term inflation target.
Responding to questions, Varga said the Fiscal Council had not yet received the draft 2027 budget. The central bank would support the government’s economic policy in line with its mandate, provided this did not jeopardize its primary task of achieving price stability, he added.
Hungary could enter ERM II, the exchange rate mechanism commonly described as the euro’s “waiting room,” “relatively quickly,” Varga said. However, adopting the common currency would require “serious preparations.”
Minutes of the policy meeting will be published Nov. 4 at 2 p.m.
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