Finance Ministry postpones hard currency purchases

Deputy Finance Minister Ryszard Michalski said yesterday that the recent weakening of the złoty has so far deterred the ministry from its plans to buy hard currency on the interbank market. The comments came as no surprise to the markets after Michalski said earlier this month that Poland would buy funds needed to finance its foreign debt on the interbank market only if the złoty firmed at least 5%. Asked whether the ministry had been buying hard currency through the interbank market, Michalski said: "Thanks to favorable market conditions, we have not yet started." Political uncertainty at home and global market jitters following the war in Iraq have hit the złoty, pushing it down by nearly 6% to the Euro since the start of the year. (Reuters) M.M.