7 February 2005

1        At its meeting on 7 February 2005, the Monetary Council discussed the latest economic and financial developments as well as the first draft of the Quarterly Report on Inflation, to be issued on 21 February. In accordance with its meeting schedule, the Council did not take a decision on the central bank base rate at Monday’s meeting.

2        The Council reviewed the past practice of channelling the Government’s foreign currency borrowings to the foreign exchange market and found it satisfactory. In the light of the assessment, the Council decided to continue to conduct such operations in the same approach as in 2004. The MNB is issuing a separate press release on channelling the Government’s foreign currency borrowings to the market.

3        The Council approved the abridged minutes of its rate-setting meeting of 24 January 2005. The minutes will be published in both Hungarian and English at 2 p.m. on 11 March 2005.