Finance Minister and NBP head: end-of-year inflation at 9% or less

Year-on-year inflation could drop to 9.2% in November and 8.8%-9% in December, predicts Finance Minister Jaroslaw Bauc. Most analysts agree with him, as November has been a better-than-average month, with food prices increasing only 0.4%. National Bank of Poland (NBP) president Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz also expects December-to-December inflation to reach some 9%. Meanwhile, Monetary Policy Council (RPP) member Dariusz Rosati hinted at the possibility of loosening monetary policy if the RPP decides that the 2001 inflation forecast is not threatened. Gronkiewicz-Waltz said that an interest rate cut cannot be expected sooner than in the second quarter of 2001. (Puls Biznesu, p.10)