Budapest - The monetary council of the Hungarian National Bank voted Monday to cut the central bank's benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, or 50 basis points, to 10 per cent.

The move was in line with the expectations of most financial analysts. It is the third such cut in a month.

The move further reverses action taken by the Hungarian central bank on October 22, when it was forced to hike the base rate from 8.5 to 11.5 per cent.

The extraordinary hike was made to defend the national currency, the forint, against the actions of currency speculators. At the time, there were concerns that speculation could lead to the forint's collapse.

The bank had previously approved cuts of 50 basis points at a regular meeting November 24 and at an unscheduled meeting December 8. (dpa)