Czech Policymaker Touts Inflation Buffer to Shield Oil Shock

The Czech central bank can wait out a global surge in oil prices without raising interest rates because inflation will likely stay under control even with higher fuel costs, according to board member Jan Kubicek.

While the Middle East conflict has pushed the oil price considerably higher than Czech officials had assumed in their forecast, longer-term oil futures jumped far less and indicated that commodity markets are treating the current situation as temporary, Kubicek said.