The change has been motivated by the fact that the role of communications related to macroeconomic data in monetary policy has become more important following the financial crisis: by analysing individual data items, central banks can help shape the expectations of economic agents about the future conduct of monetary policy. Under the Central Bank Act in effect, the primary objective of the MNB is to achieve and maintain price stability. Consequently, regular assessments of the latest inflation data contain highly important information. So far, such analyses have been included in the Bank’s Inflation Report published quarterly.
The essence of the MNB’s new approach is that it publishes inflation analyses within one hour (at 10 am) following the release official inflation data. The analyses paint a picture of both lasting inflation trends and the reasons underlying short-term shifts. As a result of the changes, the contents of the MNB’s monthly inflation analyses will be expanded and will become more easily readable for the general public. Following publication of the data, in real time between 9 am and 12 noon, the head of the MNB’s inflation analyses will answer questions asked by the public (from the next month, an online communications platform will be set up for this purpose).
These steps will help improve the transparency of the MNB’s decisions and support the longer-term credibility of the Bank’s monetary policy.