(Bloomberg) --
Hungary delivered the seventh interest-rate increase in as many weeks in a monetary tightening campaign that has so far failed to shore up the country’s battered currency. The forint rose.
The central bank raised the 1-week deposit rate, the effective base rate, by 20 basis points to 4% on Thursday. Policy makers have hiked by 220 basis points since mid-November to the highest nominal level in the European Union.
The tightening campaign’s effects have been offset by record pre-election spending by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose party seeks to stay in power for another term.
Last week, Orban announced a freeze on residential mortgage rates at their end-October levels, when prevailing interest rates were about half of what they are now.
The forint gained 0.4% against the euro after the rate decision. It has weakened 1% against the euro in the last month, while peers Czech koruna and Polish zloty have strengthened. The Hungarian currency fell to a record low against the euro earlier this week.
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