Hungary's central bank will continue its base rate hike cycle with predictable and decisive steps until it sees signs that inflation is peaking probably in the autumn months, deputy governor Barnabas Virag said on Thursday.

"The role of the one-week deposit rate has increased again," Virag told reporters, adding that the bank wanted to prevent a rise risk premia leading to a further worsening in the inflation outlook.

Virag said there was a good chance for 2022 economic growth to exceed 4% and even come in around 5%, while annual average inflation would be higher than the bank's last forecast issued in March. (Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs)


Reuters