CZECHIA: Holub Says Prospect of Rates Below 4% by Year-End Realistic

CNB Board Member Tomáš Holub has commented on monetary policy in an interview to E15. Highlights below:

• "The prospect of having rates just under four at the end of the year, which would mean a 25 basis point cut each session, is realistic for me."
• "Colleagues communicated a lot that they no longer see a likely further reduction of half a percentage point, on the contrary, they even allowed for temporary stability. For me, we're getting to the point where it's reasonable to go from fifty point steps to standard 25 point steps. I personally think it would be premature to completely stop the rate reduction process."
• "I can imagine that this relaxation could get fairly broad support in the banking board. But I don't want to push my colleagues something that they will end up feeling differently. But for me, the next step of 25 points down is a good starting point for discussion."

The full interview can be found here.