Slovak Central Bank Holds Rates at 4.25% Ahead of Euro Adoption in January 2009

(CEP News) - As expected, the Slovakian Central Bank held its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.25% on Tuesday, in line with the European Central Bank's main refinancing rate and ahead of Slovakia's adoption of the euro on Jan. 1, 2009. The moves comes as the country experiences an annual 4.8% inflation rate - 4.4% when harmonized with the euro zone - and a preliminary 7.6% annual growth rate in Q2 2008. Should the European Central Bank continue to hold rates as expected by both markets and economists, it is unlikely the Slovak Central Bank will deviate from the ECB until its adoption of the euro. By Erik Kevin Franco, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it, edited by Nancy Girgis, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it CEP Newswires - CEP News © 2008. All Rights Reserved.