"A decline in price pressures, together with easing risks of insufficient external financing, creates room for monetary policy easing. The baseline scenario of the NBU’s January macroeconomic forecast provides for a gradual further reduction of the key policy rate over the forecast horizon. At the same time, a weakening of pro-inflationary risks will signal faster cuts in the key policy rate than foreseen by the revised macroeconomic forecast," the statement said. Ahead of the meeting, bankers’ views were divided: some expected the regulator to keep the key policy rate at 15.5%, while the majority of respondents forecast a cut to 15.0%. As reported, starting in March 2025 the National Bank held the key policy rate at 15.5% for seven consecutive meetings, having raised it three times prior to that beginning in mid-December 2024.