RPP raises interest rates by 150bps
The Monetary Policy Council (RPP) raised the basic interest rates yesterday. Expectations as to the exact amount of the rate hike differed from 50bps to 200bps, while the actual increase was 150bps. The intervention rate was increased from 17.5% to 19%; the Lombard rate - from 21.5% to 23%; the discount rate - from 20% to 21.5%. The reason for this move was a pick up of inflation, and especially the increase of food and fuel prices, as well as telecommunication services and electricity. The National Bank of Poland's (NBP) president Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz said RPP maintained its restrictive monetary policy aiming at a 7% inflation rate in Dec. 2001. The inflation target for the next year was set between 6% and 8%, while this year's target of 5.4%-6.8% will certainly not be achieved, although the hike should curb the inflation somehow. Gronkiewicz-Waltz did not give any concrete projection for this year's inflation. She said, however, that if the government launches an anti-inflation programme, RPP would analyse it to adapt its monetary policy to it.
Źródło:IntelliNews Daily
