By Veronika Gulyas

BUDAPEST--Hungary's economic growth may slow further because of the currency crisis in Russia, while the falling oil price will weigh further on the country's inflation rate, the central bank warned on Thursday

Hungary's economy relies more on exports to Russia than western European countries, said Barnabas Virag, a central bank director. He said growth in gross domestic product could slow by 0.1 percentage point with every 1.5 to two percentage point drop in Russian GDP.

The sharp drop in global oil prices--from around $100 a barrel to below $60 this year--has prompted the central bank to lower its inflation forecasts for this year and next. In its December inflation report, released Thursday, the National Bank of Hungary said this year's inflation rate would fall to -0.2%, while next year's would reach 0.9%.

The central bank forecast GDP growth of 3.3% this year and 2.3% next year.

The projections are part of the central bank's baseline forecast and doesn't include developments of the past week when the currency crisis in Russia escalated, Mr. Virag said.

European Union sanctions already in place against Russia have mostly affected Hungarian food exports there. Moreover, pharmaceutical firm Richter Gedeon Nyrt. (RICHTER.BU) and OTP Bank Nyrt. (OTP.BU) have been hit hard due to their large presence in Russia.

Write to Veronika Gulyas at veronika.gulyas@wsj.com; Twitter: @VeronikaGulyas1