Bank Board's Holub Says Inflation Will Peak This Month, Reiterates Call For Tighter MonPol

The CNB has published a readout of Bank Board member Tomas Holub's appearance in a televised debate over the weekend, during which the official said he expects inflation to peak this month and then slow sharply.

• "I think we'll probably get above the +18% Y/Y mark [in January] (...) We should then start descending during the spring. (...) What is unpleasant is that we will learn the figure for January at the end of February, but only after the February monetary policy meeting of the Bank Board," Holub said.
• The official added a caveat to his remarks, as he warned that inflation could stabilise at "high levels" above the central bank's target. In line with this concern, the hawkish dissenter on the Bank Board reiterated his call for "slightly tighter" monetary policy to prevent inflation staying above the target.
• Holub's comments came after CNB Governor Ales Michl repeated his appeal to the public to "really start saving, stop spending" and warned that a renewed surge in household consumption could force the central bank to tighten monetary policy.