Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
Audio – Czech central bank: Strength of crown suggests lowering of interest rate trajectory
The strength of the Czech currency will likely lead to a lowering of the interest rate trajectory in the central bank’s next quarterly forecast, CNB Vice Governor Ludek Niedermayer told the Reuters Central European Investment Summit.
While some other factors, like a tight labour market, were working in the opposite direction, there was a general shift down with regard to the likely path were rates were heading, Niedermayer said.
Last month the Czech currency has hit record highs against the euro, pushed up by investors unwinding carry trades that used the crown to hold positions in higher-yielding assets.
The Czech central bank’s new quarterly forecast is due on Oct. 25.
To read the full Reuters story, click here.
Audio – Credit Crunch leaves CEE countries pretty unscathed
The recent global credit crunch sparked a tightening in fund availability in Russian and Kazakh money markets, which also saw their spreads widen substantially.
Yet most central and eastern European countries were spared much of a bruising, says Patrick Butler, Chief Financial Officer of Austria’s Raiffeisen Zentralbank.
