Hungary policy interest rate
Magyar Nemzeti Bank jegybanki alapkamat — the policy rate of the Hungarian central bank, set by the Monetary Council (Monetáris Tanács) at its rate-setting meetings (normally the fourth Tuesday of each month) and promulgated as an MNB decree (rendelet) in the Magyar Közlöny. Hungary is an EU member but NOT in the euro area: it keeps the forint and an independent national monetary policy, so the MNB base rate — not the ECB deposit facility rate — is the operative policy rate.
| Current value | 5.75 percent |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-07-22 |
| Official source | MNB — Press release on the Monetary Council meeting of 21 July 2026: the Council reduced the base rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent, the O/N deposit rate to 4.75 percent and the O/N collateralised lending rate to 6.75 percent, with effect from 22 July 2026 |
| Last verified | 2026-07-24 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
Latest decision as of confirmation: 21 July 2026 (announced Tuesday, effective the following day, 22 July 2026, when the MNB decree enters into force). Interest rate corridor is symmetric at ±100bp: O/N deposit 4.75%, O/N collateralised lending 6.75%. 2026 path so far — 27 Jan: HELD at 6.50%; 24 Feb: CUT 25bp to 6.25% (effective 25 Feb), the first move in 17 months and the start of the current easing cycle; 24 Mar, 28 Apr and 26 May: HELD at 6.25%; 23 Jun: CUT 25bp to 6.00% (effective 24 Jun); 21 Jul: CUT 25bp to 5.75% (effective 22 Jul). Forward guidance in the July statement: 'if favourable developments persist, the Council – while maintaining a positive real interest rate – sees room to further decrease the base rate throughout the summer, with a decision on the continuation to be made based on the September Inflation Report.' The easing is anchored on inflation falling to 1.7% YoY in June 2026 (below the 3% ±1pp target band) and a lower risk premium on Hungarian assets. TRAPS: (1) do not substitute the ECB rate — Hungary is EU but non-eurozone; (2) do not use the O/N collateralised lending rate (6.75%) or the O/N deposit rate (4.75%), which are the corridor bounds, nor the discontinued one-day deposit quick-tender rate that was the DE FACTO effective rate during the 2022–2023 emergency regime — since autumn 2023 the alapkamat is again the effective policy rate; (3) the effective date is the day AFTER the decision, because the rate is legally the entry into force of an MNB rendelet. Governor: Varga Mihály (since March 2025). Canonical MNB time series of base rate changes and their decree entry-into-force dates: https://www.mnb.hu/Jegybanki_alapkamat_alakulasa (machine-readable at https://www.mnb.hu/root/BaseRate/BaseRateExcel/alapkamat.xlsx — verified against the press releases; both agree on 5.75% from 2026-07-22). All Monetary Council press releases (EN): https://www.mnb.hu/en/monetary-policy/the-monetary-council/press-releases . Next scheduled rate-setting meeting: late August 2026.
Earlier values
| From | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-01-02 | 0.9 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2020-06-24 | 0.75 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2020-07-22 | 0.6 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2021-06-23 | 0.9 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2021-07-28 | 1.2 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2021-08-25 | 1.5 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2021-09-22 | 1.65 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2021-10-20 | 1.8 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2021-11-17 | 2.1 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2021-12-15 | 2.4 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2022-01-26 | 2.9 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
| 2022-02-23 | 3.4 | Bank for International Settlements - Central Bank Policy Rat |
Get it programmatically
curl https://euroref.dev/v1/hu/policy-rate
# $0.001 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://euroref.dev/v1/hu/policy-rate/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://euroref.dev/provenance/hu/policy-rateOther Hungary series: VAT rate · minimum wage · public holidays · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates · statutory interest rate