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| - Hungary's central bank on Tuesday further cut its base rate from 0.75 percent to a historic low of 0.6 percent, aiming to boost economic growth hit hard by the new coronavirus pandemic. The move, which was expected by analysts, was the second consecutive monthly 15 basis point drop after a fall from 0.9 percent last month, the first decrease in four years. Last month a central bank MNB official said the rate would not fall below 0.6 percent, describing it as the right rate to help relaunch the coronavirus-hit economy. "It is neither an option nor an opportunity to go below this level," MNB deputy head Barnabas Virag had said. The rate of 0.6 percent "supports the maintenance of price stability and the recovery of economic growth," the bank had also said. Analysts say the rate cut is clearly aimed at stirring economic recovery, while trying to avoid further falls in the forint, which has dropped steadily in recent months. The government and analysts predict Hungary's GDP will contract by several percent in 2020 after the pandemic halted key economic sectors, such as automotive production and tourism. But the MNB said Tuesday that it still expects growth of at least 0.3 percent in 2020 despite a plunge in output in the second quarter. The economy grew by 2.2 percent in the first quarter. The MNB expects a fall of 7.0 percent in the second, but pins its hope on a so-called V-shaped recovery -- in which a steep drop is followed immediately by a correspondingly sharp pick-up -- in the second half of the year. The MNB has been led by former economy minister Gyoergy Matolcsy -- a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- since March 2013. pmu/jza/jh
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