Nov 10 (Reuters) – Czech consumer prices in October fell on a monthly basis for the first time since the end of 2020 as state measures to cool utility bills kicked in, data showed on Thursday, bolstering central bankers’ arguments to keep interest rates steady.
After sharp rate hikes since 2021, the Czech National Bank kept its base rate at 7.00% a week ago for a third straight meeting. Governor Ales Michl said the bank wanted to be an anchor while high inflation hits consumers and sends the economy into recession.
Other policymakers in central Europe are also trying to end a cycle of sharp rate hikes that were taken since last year when price pressures started building, even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to a further acceleration in prices.
Czech prices, though, unexpectedly fell 1.4% month-on-month in October, the statistics office said in its Thursday release, reducing the year-on-year inflation rate to 15.1%, after a…
