Appreciating the złoty

Last week Finance Minister Teresa Lubińska said that exporters were coping well with the currency's rapid appreciation: "In a natural way we are catching up with the world, this is a given ... Our firms have to deal with this."

The złoty appreciated about six percent last year and now trades at around zł.3.83 against the euro. Last Thursday it reached a more than three-and-a-half-year high, some 22 percent above lows reached in March 2004. Earlier last week Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said he believed zł.4 would be a level more conducive to Poland's economy.

Exporters have been pivotal in Poland's economic growth. The gains by the złoty cut into both their profit margins and competitiveness.

"We need to remember that billions of euros will flow in every year and there will be demand for the zloty," added Lubińska. (Reuters)