The Hungarian forint traded lower against the US dollar in New York trading on Monday after the Hungary's central bank unexpectedly hiked its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%, as inflation remains persistently above the bank's target.

The bank also noted that it may be necessary to increase the base rate further in the coming months to meet the inflation target.

Economists had forecast no change in the interest rate. The central bank had kept the key rate unchanged for the past six meetings. The current rate will be effective November 30.

At 12:00 pm ET, the forint declined to a fresh multi-month low of 217.46 versus the greenback from last Friday's close of 211.51. Currently, the forint is worth 217.10 versus the greenback. The Hungarian currency has been in a downward channel against the dollar for the past 1 week.

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