WARSAW (Reuters) – The current level of interest rates in Poland is adequate, central banker Cezary Kochalski said on Tuesday.
Poland’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) has left its main interest rate unchanged at 6.75% at its last three sittings, taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach after it raised the cost of credit by 665 basis points over the course of a year.
“In light of current data, it is an adequate level,” Kochalski told private broadcaster Biznes24, adding that data was showing the effects of earlier rate hikes.
Inflation in Poland eased to 17.4% in November from 17.9% the previous month, according to a flash estimate from the statistics office.
With analysts polled by Reuters forecasting stable rates until the end of 2023, market speculation has shifted to when policy could start to ease.
However, Kochalski said that this was not a priority topic in the current circumstances.
“Rate cuts are on the horizon, but this is not a topic that should be the main focus because we still have high inflation,” he said.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz; editing by Jason Neely)