Finance Minister's inflation forecast predicts there will be summer deflation

Finance Minister Jaroslaw Bauc expects year-to-year inflation to drop rapidly from 10% to 7% in the second half of this year. However, this could be threatened because of the yet-unknown-effects of the drought and whether fuel prices will stay the same or go up. He has also announced there is no chance of interest rates coming down. "Increasing business activity with the European Union (EU), should benefit the economy," said Jaroslaw Bauc. He is also expecting revenue from Social Insurance Company (ZUS) premiums to be higher than 96.9%. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 21) M.M.