The Czech central bank cuts its key interest rate as inflation falls and the economy slowly recovers

The Czech Republic’s central bank has cut its key interest rate for the sixth time in a row as inflation falls and the economy recovers more slowly than expected. The cut, which had been predicted by analysts, brought the interest rate down by a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.50%. The bank started to trim borrowing costs by a quarter-point on Dec. 21. The Czech economy was up by 0.4% up year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, and increased by 0.3% compared with the previous three months. Inflation dropped to the bank’s target of 2.0% year-on-year in June from 2.6% in May.