Czech central bank keeps on easing path with 25-bp rate cut
Bank delivers 8th straight rate cut
Board voted 5-2 for 25-bp reduction
One policymaker wanted pause, one wanted deeper cut
Governor: 'great caution' in further cuts
New outlook sees lower growth, but more inflation
Updates throughout with Governor comments
By Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka
PRAGUE, Nov 7 (Reuters) -The Czech National Bank (CNB) extended its year-long monetary easing campaign on Thursday as expected with a 25-basis-point interest rate cut, but cautioned about further steps due to inflation pressures.
The bank's board voted 5-2 to cut the two-week repo rate CZCBIR=ECI to 4.00%. One board member backed a deeper 50-bp cut, although another voted for no change, the first time someone has raised their hand for a pause in the easing cycle.
Facing a sluggish economic recovery and with the inflation outlook staying within the bank's tolerance band around its 2% target, the bank has yet to pause an easing cycle it started last December that has cut rates by a combined 300 basis points.
But policymakers have remained wary of strong price pressures from service sectors and a tight labour market.
Governor Ales Michl said after the meeting that inflation would rise in the coming months due to renewed food price growth, and said services prices would keep core inflation elevated.
"Therefore, the bank board will approach future monetary policy easing with great caution and may pause the interest rate reduction process," he said.
After the previous meeting, the bank had said it would "carefully consider" further rate cuts.
In the bank's statement, Michl also said: "The bank board states that the interest rate reduction process can be paused or terminated in the months ahead at levels that are still restrictive as rates approach their neutral levels."
The statement added the reference to "months ahead" versus its previous statement.
Michl said most of the board was concentrated on inflation risks more than risks of weaker growth coming from Germany.
The bank's new economic outlook, released on Thursday and used as a guide to decision-making, forecast Czech growth next year of 2.4%, versus a previous estimate of 2.8%, after a 1.0% increase this year.
Czech consumers have been slow to return to spending after high prices hit households in recent years. At the same time, industry is struggling with weak demand from trading partners, like Germany.
The new outlook saw a lower interest rate path in 2025 than before, with the three-month interbank rate, proxy for official rates, falling close to 3% from the second quarter of 2025.
The outlook has yet to fully factor in Republican Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election as global markets see risks of tariffs hitting global trade. U.S. yields could also rise.
Michl said the bank saw no immediate impact of the U.S. election.
The crown, which hit a three-month low after Trump's election, has been stable and was up 0.3% at 25.281 to the euro on Thursday.
Reporting by Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka
Editing by Ros Russell
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