The central bank of the Czech Republic said March 29 that it would maintain its key rates, following discussions on the pace of additional normalization of monetary policy.

The board of the Ceská národní banka kept its two-week repo rate, the discount rate and the Lombard rate at 0.75%, 0.05% and 1.50%, respectively.

The two-week repo rate has been increased three times since August 2017.

Inflation has continued to fall since October 2017, dropping to 1.8% in February, below the Czech central bank's target of 2%. Moreover, the economy expanded by 5.2% year over year in the 2017 fourth quarter, according to Reuters.

Central bank Governor Jiri Rusnok reportedly said that the next rate hike may also come sooner if the crown appreciates more slowly than forecast by the central bank.