December's record low inflation unlikely to be beaten - for now

According to the economists, food prices went up more than expected so analysts have increased their inflation forecasts for December 2002. It seems there are small chances that prices in December will beat the historic November low, which saw only a 0.9% increase in inflation. The most op timistic analysts believe the CPI would remain at the same level, but most of them believed that it would go up by 1%. The main reason for this is the substantial jump in fuel prices in December. "The price of oil was at its highest for the past few years and even hit $32 per barrel," said Lukasz Tarnawa from PKO BP. Optimists believe that there was a further drop in alcohol prices, as a result of the decrease in excise duty in October, which could pull inflation down. (Puls Biznesu, p. 11) M.M.