Hungary consecutively cut its standard interest rate for the ninth month today, after the country's risk premium fell and the forint gained as anxiety about Greek contagion ebbed.

The two-week deposit rate was lowered to 5.5% from 5.75% by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, which is the lowest since communism fell 2 decades back. It had been forecasted by 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

As a 6.3 percent economic contraction last year dulled price pressures, the policy makers have managed to lower the benchmark by 4%. Economists opined that strengthening currency may overcome concern that Greece's fiscal crisis may harm Hungarian assets.

According to the minutes published on March 17, continuous rate cuts since July "might come to an end at any of the Council's next few meetings".

Barta and Sandor Jobbagy, economists at the Budapest unit of Intesa Sanpaolo SpA said, "We believe there is still room for another cut in March, especially seeing recent forint and yield developments".

The Hungurian currency managed to gain 0.7% in the previous month and traded at 265.97 at 1:30 p. m. in Budapest. The country's five-year credit-default swap fell to 180.515 on March 26 from 231.280 a month ago.