Romania will likely leave interest rates unchanged at the highest level in the European Union after a persistent political crisis pushed the currency to a record low.

The National Bank of Romania will hold the key rate at 6.5% on Thursday, according to all economists in a Bloomberg survey. Policymakers have stayed pat for over two years, during which the country has endured resurging government turmoil, double-digit inflation and an economic downturn.

The Black Sea nation is seeking to install a fully functioning cabinet after a series of failed attempts since the previous administration collapsed in May over measures needed to curb one of the EU’s widest fiscal deficits. “We expect the key rate to stay at 6.50% at least until May 2027 as core inflation remains sticky,” said Ciprian Dascalu, a Bucharest-based economist at Erste Group Bank AG. “Rate hikes in Romania appear unlikely in an economy operating with a deeply negative output gap. Market rates increased in September, though monetary conditions remained broadly unchanged after the leu weakening.”

The political deadlock has exacerbated global pressures on the leu, which last week depreciated beyond the central bank’s previous preferred range under a managed-float regime. The weaker currency may amplify inflation risks at a time when price growth was set to slow sharply due to the fading effects of last year’s tax increases.

The central bank said last week that the complicated market environment warranted a “balancing act” between interest rates and the exchange rate. The comments suggested that the currency’s management has become less tight after the bank had touted room for greater exchange rate flexibility, according to Dascalu.

While Romania has been run by a caretaker cabinet for more than five months, which has raised concerns over further deficit reductions, the country has managed to avoid losing its investment grade ratings at the three major credit assessors this year.