* C.bank chief outvoted on rates,
* Bank discussed currency-easing measures
* For TEXT of meeting minutes, click on
(Adds details, market reaction)
PRAGUE, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Czech central bank chief Zdenek Tuma was outvoted by the bank's board when it decided last week to leave rates flat instead of lowering them, minutes from the meeting showed on Friday.
The minutes showed that in the light of rates being already low, the board discussed alternative ways to pursue a weaker exchange rate and thus looser monetary policy.
This was the first time in recent years that Tuma has been in a minority, showing the normally consensus-building governor strongly felt the need to ease policy further as the economy faces prospects of weak recovery.
The board voted 5-2 to leave rates flat at an all-time low of 1.25 percent at the Sept 24 meeting. The other board member voting for a 25 basis point cut was Vice-Governor Miroslav Singer.
"The prevailing view in the board was that the resulting balance of risks to the fulfilment of the August forecast was anti-inflationary, although the members differed in their opinions about the intensity of the risk," the minutes said.
"Some thought that the upside and downside factors were broadly balanced, but opinions were also repeatedly expressed that it was highly likely the inflation target would be significantly undershot unless monetary policy was eased."
One of the anti-inflationary risks has been the firming exchange rate, a key factor in the wide-open economy, and the board discussed potential measures to weaken it.
That could be a rare intervention in the market, which the bank normally does not interfere with unless there is a sharp deviation from what it sees as a path justified by economic fundamentals.
"Doubts were repeatedly expressed about whether an interest rate reduction would, in the present situation, have the desired effect on lending, the exchange rate and thus inflation at the monetary policy transmission horizon," the minutes said.
"In connection with the potential continued build-up of anti-inflationary risks, and with regard to the already limited rate-lowering options of monetary policy, the board also debated other monetary policy instruments that could be used to affect the exchange rate dynamics and establish an easier monetary policy," the minutes said.
The Czech crown dropped slightly after the minutes to a session low of 25.475 to the euro, before returning to 25.455 where it traded before the release.
The crown has outperformed its peers this year, gaining 5.2 percent since January, while other currencies have weakened in that time. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet; editing by Stephen Nisbet)