The central bank of the Czech Republic on Thursday decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the fourth time in a row as the economy struggled to emerge from the ongoing recession. The decision was in line with economists' forecast.
The Czech National Bank maintained its main two-week repurchase rate at 0.05 percent. The rate was cut by 20 basis points at the November meeting and by a quarter percent at the session prior to that. The bank also retained the discount rate at 0.05 percent and the Lombard rate at 0.25 percent.
Czech economy contracted 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, following a 0.4 percent fall in the third quarter, reflecting falling households consumption and reduced demand of investors for fixed capital. Year-on-year, the gross domestic product fell 1.7 percent.
Czech inflation stayed unchanged at 1.7 percent in March, which was the weakest inflation rate since September 2012.
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