It is time to restore economic growth in Hungary even if it comes at the price of reaching the central bank's inflation target "a bit later", Minister for Economic Development Marton Nagy told local Inforadio late on Monday.

Reiterating the government's criticism of the central bank's cautious rate cuts, Nagy said the bank was in a "vicious circle" as it needed to keep interest rates high to ensure the forint's stability and prevent what "hot money" exiting the bank's discount bills. (Reporting by Krisztina Than Editing by Shri Navaratnam)