Czech central banker pledges to curb inflation

PRAGUE: Czech policy makers will do whatever it takes to achieve price stability and any further easing in policy would come through the exchange rate, central bank Deputy Governor Vladimir Tomsik said.

A day after the central bank held rates at near zero and said it would keep its limit on koruna gains in place, Tomsik said board members saw no "imminent pressure" to loosen monetary policy.

The Czech economy should grow about 3 percent annually in the coming years, he said. "We are ready to do everything to deliver price stability," Tomsik told analysts in a seminar via video link on Friday. "It makes sense to continue in the monetary policy we're using right now." With economic growth gaining speed, investors have pushed the koruna to flirt with the bank's limit of about 27 against the euro, which in turn prompted policy makers to intervene last month for the first time since they imposed the cap in 2013. Despite appreciation pressure, the bank vowed on Thursday to maintain the currency regime at least until the second half of 2016.