Consumer Price Index highest level for three years

According to the Polish Official Statistics (GUS) the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June amounted to 4.4%, the highest value since 2001. The biggest growth was in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which increased 8.1% over last year, and fuels at 17.8%. "I do not think that this marks the end of the increase in inflation," said Zsolt Papp, ABN Amro analyst. Arkadiusz Krześniak, from Deutsche Bank, added that the figure is likely to get close to 5% in August. However, Hanna Wasilewska-Trenkner a member of the Monetary Policy Council (RPP), predicts that the CPI should begin a downward slide from next month, while according to Krześniak, this should be below 4% in December. He added that the RPP is likely to react by increasing interest rates either later this month or in August. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) M.M.