Latest news with #CzechEconomy
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
CEE ECONOMY Czech economy accelerates in first quarter on higher household spending
PRAGUE, May 30 (Reuters) - Czech economic output jumped by a faster-than-predicted 0.8% in the first quarter, the highest since late 2021, driven by a strong rebound in household spending and inventories, the Czech Statistical Bureau (CSU) said on Friday. The result marked an increase from a flash estimate of 0.5% expansion, and put year-on-year growth at 2.2%. The central European economy has been slow to recover from the COVID pandemic, which was followed by an inflation wave, high energy prices and weak demand in main trade partner Germany. A gradual rebound in real wages, as inflation waned, has been the main driver of the recovery. The CSU said household demand contributed 1.5 percentage points to the year-on-year expansion, followed by inventory adding 1.3 points, government spending with 0.4, while foreign trade and capital investments had negative contributions. "The year-on-year result is the best in nearly three years and was caused mainly by growing household spending," said Petr Dufek, chief economist at Banka Creditas. "The first quarter result lays the ground quite well for the full-year growth of roughly 2%." Chief Economist Pavel Sobisek of UniCredit CZ+SK said momentum would help the economy going forward but there would be negative effects of U.S. tariff policies. "That will undoubtedly cause fluctuations of growth and its overall reduction versus a situation of tariffs not being imposed," he said in a note. The crown was trading flat versus the euro at 24.945 .
The Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Czech central bank cuts key interest rate to 3.5% as inflation drops more than expected
The Czech Republic's central bank cut its key interest rate again on Wednesday, with lower-than-expected inflation. The cut brought the interest rate down by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.50%. The bank had kept the rate unchanged at its previous policy meeting in March. Analysts predicted the cut was likely, but also said the uncertainty over the tariff policies of U.S. President Donald Trump was an argument in favor of no change. The bank started to trim borrowing costs by a quarter-point on Dec. 21, 2023, to boost the economy, and further cut rates by half or a quarter of a percentage point several times last year. Inflation dropped to 1.8% year-on-year in April, the lowest level in seven years, preliminary data by the Czech Statistics Office indicated on Tuesday. It was 2.7% year-on-year in March. The size of the Czech economy was up 1% in 2024 compared with the previous year. The European Central Bank, which sets interest rates for the 20 countries that use the euro currency, lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.25% on April 17 for the seventh time. The U.S. Federal Reserve was expected to keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged at about 4.3% later on Wednesday, despite weeks of harsh criticism and demands from Trump that the Fed reduce borrowing costs.
Associated Press
07-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Czech central bank cuts key interest rate to 3.5% as inflation drops more than expected
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic's central bank cut its key interest rate Wednesday again , with lower-than-expected inflation. The cut brought the interest rate down by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.50%. The bank had kept the rate unchanged at its previous policy meeting in March. Analysts predicted the cut was likely, but also said the uncertainty over the tariff policies of U.S. President Donald Trump was an argument in favor of no change. The bank started to trim borrowing costs by a quarter-point on Dec. 21 , 2023 to boost the economy, and further cut rates by half or a quarter of a percentage point several times last year. Inflation dropped to 1.8% year-on-year in April, the lowest level in seven years, preliminary data by the Czech Statistics Office indicated on Tuesday. It was 2.7% year-on-year in March. The size of the Czech economy was up 1% in 2024 compared with the previous year. The European Central Bank , which sets interest rates for the 20 countries that use the euro currency, lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.25% on April 17 for the seventh time. The U.S. Federal Reserve was expected to keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged at about 4.3% later on Wednesday, despite weeks of harsh criticism and demands from Trump that the Fed reduce borrowing costs. The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day.
